Figure Item Number: 3148/10 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Ookpik. Toy owl made from light yellow seal skin on front and brown on back. Head is large, body flares out slightly at shoulders. Eyes are circles of leather, with a brown leather triangle serving as a beak below. Feet are also leather and have three toes. Suede base is round and stitched to body with black thread.

History Of Use

Ookpik (meaning 'snowy owl' in Inuktitut) refers to a popular Inuit handicraft that originated in the early 1960s. An ookpik is an owl figure made of sealskin with round eyes.

Narrative

In 1966-67 the donors' mother was engaged to James Haining who, at that time, was the area administrator of Igloolik/Hall Beach. During that period she acquired a number of Inuit artifacts. Her collection is thought to have been obtained from some of the following eastern arctic communities: Hall Beach, Igloolik, Cape Dorset, Sheardown Lake, Mary River, Frobisher Bay, Cambridge Bay, Pelly Bay, Baker Lake, Milne Inlet and Pond Inlet.