YUP'ik ELDERS in MUSEUMS: FIELDWORK Ted Irch TURNED on ITS HEAD ;.On .Nak- ANN FIENUP-RIORDAN

y35:2

38. YUP'IK ELDERS IN MUSEUMS: FIELDWORK ted irch TURNED ON ITS HEAD ;.on .nak- ANN FIENUP-RIORDAN

n avid

Abstract. This paper describes efforts begun in 1994 to bring Yup'ik elders in direct contact with I be- an museum colIections gathered from their region 100 years ago to simultaneously preserve their knowledge and make it available to scholars and Yup'ik community members. The museum arti- on facts that provided our focus were the 7000 objects colIected by Iohan Adrian Jacobsen from Alaska in 1882-1883. Housed in Berlin's Museum für Vôlkerkunde, they constitute the largest unpublished colIection of Yup'ik artifacts anywhere in the world, including detailed ethno- bu- graphic and linguistic information. Bringing information about a major colIection home to Alaska is an act of "visual repatriation" that we hope will illuminate the world view of its creators. Yup'ik elders working side by side with anthropologists and museum professionals can help us better understand the artifacts Jacobsen colIected from their area. These are first steps in the two-way process of Yup'ik people owning their past and museum curators realizing the full value of the contents of their attics.

of 1 Introduction returned to Berlin in 1883 to great acclaim. His colIection of 6720 objects, a third from Yup'ik Fifteen years before the outset ofthe [esup North communities on the coast of the Bering Sea, was Pacific Expedition, Adolf Bastian, director of displayed in a special exhibit for Berlin's Anthro- '1 Berlin's Royal Ethnological Museum, commis- pological Society, and Crown Prince Friedreich J, sioned a 30-year-old Norwegian jack-of-alI-trades, carne to view it. This was the first of many trips Ja- Johan Adrian Jacobsen, to travel to America's cobsen made for the Royal Museum, which today northwest coast and colIect for his museum. houses more than 15,000 objects colIected by him Aware that the Geographical Society of Bremen from all over the world (Fienup-Riordan was sending the Krause brothers to the Pacific 1996:219-226). Northwest, Jacobsen set his sights on Alaska.' He Jacobsen spent the folIowing winter in Berlin was especialIy interested in slate blades, nephrite cataloging his colIection, but his lack of academic (jade) amulets, and other "stone age" tools, and training earned him a cool reception among mu- hoped to bring home evidence of ancient Eskimo seum professionals. Franz Boas visited the mu- adaptations (Jacobsen 1884,1977; Krause 1956). seum and perused Jacobsen's accession records, Arriving in St. Michael in 1882, the year after complaining about inaccuracies and exaggerations Edward Nelson (1899) left, Iacobsen (1977:159) (Thode-Arora 1989:52). In part because of these continualIy complained in his correspondence limitations, Jacobsen's colIection remained largely that "Mr Nielsen" already had gotten all the good unpublished until World War 11, when most of it stuff. In fact, plenty remained for Jacobsen, and he was thought to have been destroyed during the

Ann Fienup-Riordan, 9951 Prospect Dr., Anchorage, AK 99516

ARCTIC ANTHROPOLOGY Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 49-58, 1998 50 Arctic Anthropology 35:2 Fiel bombing ofBerlin (Westphal-HelIbusch 1973). In fact, the Soviet Army took much of [acobsen's material (along with other museum colIections) by o train through Poland to Leningrad when they re- th~ treated from Berlin. In 1978 these colIections were do sent to the Leipzig Museum for Ethnology in East cot I Germany and, after the fall of the Berlin wall, re- VaI"' turned to the Museum für Võlkerkunde (Hopfner ofr 1995). elo: I first visited the Museum für Võlkerkunde in rOL 1994, looking for Yup'ik masks. There I was seq stunned to find the staff busil y un packing this ex- For traordinary Yup'ik colIection, second only to Nel- ton son's in size and scope, yet with accession records AIlj still handwritten in old German script and almost lat completely unpublished (DisselIhoff 1935,1936; Figure 1. Yup'ik delegation to Berlin's Museum für Hipszer 1971). I spent my brief stay in Berlin Võlkerkunde. From left to right: Catherine Moore, Was- silie Berlin, Paul [ohn, Annie Blue, Marie Meade, Andy busily photographing masks. But along with pho- Paukan, and Ann Fienup-Riordan. tographs, I brought home a desire to return to Berlin and dig deeper into Iacobsen's treasures.

This attitude toward colIections as opportunities Yup'ik EIders TraveI to Germany to affect the future was the primary reasonelders After the mask exhibit opened in Anchorage in and regionalleaders supported this project and 1996, a team of Yup'ik elders and community agreed to travel so far and work so hard. While in leaders and I set to work planning for that return Germany they saw themselves not as sightseers ar visit. The National Science Foundation funded our solitary researchers, but as representatives of the project through a grant to the region's nonprofit Yup'ik nation. The elders who traveled to Berlin corporation, the Association of Village Council were the recognized "professors" from their re- Presidents. After a year's preparation, ineluding a gions and were chosen both for their ability and four-month battle with Passport Services,' our willingness to share what they knew. Their de- seven-member "Yup'ik delegation" set out from tailed knowledge was impressive. They spoke in Anchorage on September 5, 1997. The group in- colIections not for my benefit or for that of the eluded Marie Meade as interviewer and translator, scholarly community, but to enlighten and em- Andy Paukan, mayor of St. Marys, as videogra- power their descendants. pher, four elders representing the different areas To understand the magnitude of their trust of the region-Wassilie Berlin, Paul [ohn, Annie and dedication, you should know that three of the Blue, and Catherine Moore-and me as photogra- four elders speak only Yup'ik. Two are in their pher and guide (Fig. 1). We spent three weeks eighties and the others in their seventies. Yet they working at the museum. As in the mask exhibit made a 24-hour plane trip, crossing 10 time zones, (Fienup-Riordan 1996:23-30), what we sought was to a place with unfamiliar sounds and sights and not so much the collectiori's physical return to foreign food. The first morning we were there, I re- Alaska, but the return of the knowledge and sto- member teasing 81-year-old Wassilie Berlin, calling ries, the history and pride that they embodied and him my uicungaq ("dear little husband," ar teasing that, we hoped, we would be able to bring home. cousin). This endearment has often worked to From the beginning the Yup'ik reaction to break the ice with elders. Instead of laughing, he learning about the existence of Yup'ik colIections looked at me seriously and said, "No, you are my has been gratitude and pride. Andy Paukan stated daughter." He said this in part because, since we it welI: had met, I had served him like a daughter. In the weeks that folIowed, he changed his mind. He and I'm thinking that coming to Germany to examine the other elders sometimes calIed me their mother these objects will make it easier for us to explain because, along with Marie, I cooked and cared for our culture to our young people and to our chil- them. Catherine confided how scared she was dreno We will be able to tell them things with no reservations. Our work will make it easier to pre- when I went out of sight, and I realized the depth pare teaching material about our culture for our of their dependence. I was humbled one morning younger generations, our children, our grandchil- near the end of our trip when Paul Iohn, the ac- dren, to our peers and even our own parents and knowledged leader of our group, said that we had grandparents. With this work, our roots and cul- been chosen by God to do this work. Although we ture will come closer to uso had fun on our trip, this was very serious business. !U'35:2 Fienup-Riordan: Yup'ik Elders in Museums 51

Elders' Work in Collections Ourwork in the museum began with a brief tour of thestorage room where 14 large cases with glass doorsheld the Yup'ik co11ections. Each elder wore a cottonqaspeq, and we stood together and sang "Tar- varnauramken," a song describing the traditional act ofpurifying oneselfwith smoke. This song had closedthe Yup'ik mask exhibit Agayuliyararput (OurWay of Making Prayerj in Anchorage, and sub- sequently opened the exhibit in each of its Lower Forty-Eightvenues, including New York, Washing- ton,D.e., and Seattle. Fo11owing the "blessing" song, Annie Blue led us in the Lord's Prayer. Three weeks 1aterour work ended with a feast and another prayer aswe joined hands in a circle with the German mu- Figure 2. Wassilie Berlin "hunting" in Berlin. Andy VVas- Paukan and Uli Sanner in the background. mdy seurnstaff we had come to know. Our group not on1yembodied geographic variation but all three re- ligious denominations active in the region- Catholic,Moravian, and Russian Orthodox. Between prayers we looked at a112000 ob- ies jects, one by one. Our major hurdle at the museum ers was not the German language, but their organiza- d tion in which "Eskimo" and "Arctus" are compre- dn hensive categories. We were fortunate that although s or Yup'ik and Ifiupiaq co11ections were mixed, most he objects from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland were in stored separately by type (e.g., net sinkers, spear points). They had not, however, been divided by .d Alaska region (Yukon, Kuskokwim, Coastal, Bristol Bay),which, as it turned out, would have been a in disaster for our regiona11y diverse group. When presented with a group ofbows, for example, the Figure 3. Elders at work looking at Yup'ik things in the e1derswould comment in turn on those from their Museum für Vôlkerkunde, Berlin, September 1997. area, being careful to mention the differences from t bows of other areas. The separation between men's lhe and women's things that I had anticipated did not lowed by Paul as the recognized expert orator with, take place. For example, Annie and Catherine as Andy liked to say, "a mind like a computer." rey knew almost as much about the use of bows and ar- Paul directed his explanations primarily to Marie, ies, rows as Wassilie and Paul; conversely, Paul and Wassilie, and Annie, while Catherine (raised at the d Wassilie spoke eloquently about the making of Catholic mission of Akulurak and consequently re- sinew, technica11y "women's work." less knowledgeable about some traditional prac- ling Group dynamics followed Yup'ík protocols. tices) often took a back seat. ln cases where Paul :ing We had a number of English-speaking visitors dur- knew more about an object than Wassilie, he ing our stay, but we did our best work when dis- would stilllisten to Wassilie before giving a full 8 cussions were carried out in Yup'ik. explanation. When we looked at something that ly The balance between men and women was e critical. Because of his full-time teaching job in St. both men were familiar with, Paul would often tell Wassilie to go ahead and talk about it. That "talk" 8 Marys, Andy Paukan origina11y planned to return nd home after the first week. It became clear that if he took a range of forms, including names, personal experiences, actions, stories, and songs (Figs. 2-3). ler 1eftthe other men would follow him, as he was the or only man among them who spoke English and, as their roommate, provided an irreplaceable meas- Names h ure of security. Because of the value Andy placed The detailed vocabulary associated with the col- 19 on this work, he agreed to stay. Had he not done lected objects was a major point of interest. When so, the whole trip would have fallen apart. looking at a box of harpoon points, elders sorted ld Formal Yup'ik etiquette dictated our roles as them by named type: nuusaarpak (three-pronged ve speakers and listeners while working in co11ec- fish or bird spearpoint), kukgar (attachment to the 3SS. tions. As the eldest man, Wassilie spoke first, fol- spearpoint on a seal-hunting weapon thrown with 52 Arctic Anthropology 35:2 Fienu a throwing board), kukgacuarat (small spearpoint), shovel, Paul [ohn recalled that a young man would with and kukgarpak (large spearpoint). Not only were shovel for four years before he would "graduate" wem there akitnat (arrowpoints), but meq'ercetaat (ar- (become a good hunter). After four years he would grip e rowpoints used for hunting), nuiret (points for see a seal head emerging from the path he had arrow bird or rabbit spears), and umit (stone arrowpoints been clearing. Again and again 1heard the tradi- hosts used during warfare). A large needle used to string tional rules for living 1had recorded in Bound- and :r salmon heads had a special name, as did a rock aries and Passages (1994), but in this context they could used as a tool for decorating clay pottery. The were organized dramatically around real objects comment "Ayuqluni (It's the same)" let us move and activities, rather than didacticalIy around Peter relatively fast through boxes of objects of a type ideas of what it meant to be a "real person." movii we had already discussed. The elders continualIy used objects to make he ca During our second week we were confronted points in an ongoing conversation among them- ers de with two boxes, each holding a mixture of kayak selves. This was never more striking than on the axes, and harpoon parts. Paul and Wassilie carefully fourth day, when we looked at a model dance shove separated them, gave each a name, and described house. Its delicately carved ivory figures and un- with 1 their use, placing kayak parts in one box and har- usual costumes drew no comment, but Andy and plana poon parts in another. When 1 looked the next day, Paul both gave long explanations of the tiny drum tobao the museum's collection manager had reordered mo del. In brief, they said that the drum holds the parts the ivories according to the original confusion, elders and all that is good, but that half of the pouru since that was the way they had historically been Yup'ik people today are outside this drum. 1 was and tl located in storage. Fortunately, we had recorded listening to a political statement about what it wipin the information about the objects' function so that meant to be Yup'ik in the modern world that done. the elders' ordering could be replicated if and would certainly be restatedin public hearings group when the museum staff chose to do so. back in Alaska. ple sh Regional differences in design and designa- EqualIy eloquent was a ten-minute descrip- revivE tion were points of great interest. When presented tion of a wooden dipper by Paul and Wassilie. I with a box mixing Yup'ik and Ifiupiaq ivory spear Wassilie first described the dipper's use, folIowed inclue points (talutet), the elders picked out ones from by Paul's detailed account of the drinking restric- spun i their area to comment on, ignoring those of their tions imposed on young boys to make them fleet looker northern neighbors. Although technically the and strong. Wassilie then described the face de- Wassi handiwork of Yup'ik speakers, things from Un- signs painted on the inside bottom of drinking Cathei alakleet were dismissed as Ifiupiaq and not inves- containers, which reminded Paul of the story of ing so tigated. the boy who was told to look into a water bucket turnec Precontact regional hostilities were refer- where he observed the face of an old mano This, muscl enced. The third day we looked at a box of spear his grandmother told him, was his own image, as day I I throwers (nuqaq). 1 lay them out on the table, and he was destined to live a long life. Wassilie then dance each elder picked up those made from his or her told of a woman whose husband was lost on the yarart: area. Annie Blue chose the nuqaq made by the ice. She told her son to look into the water bucket, the ws warlike Aglegmiut, and playfully pretended to use and there he saw an image of his father in his boat, Riordé it as a gun to shoot Paul and Wassilie across the foretelling his safe return. Paul [ohn concluded re- ration. table. flectively, "If we had continued to channel these was hr Elders made old things familiar in their com- customs to the present time, we would still have ments, emphasizing similarity between past and our own shamans that would be able to do that Songs present over difference. Paul Iohn designated an kind of work for us ordinary people." AlI this from ivory story knife (yaaruin) a "cartoon-alriit." three ounces of old wood! Iust as Catherine called a bladder water bottle (mervik) a The group hotly debated which personal ex- and dr "Yup'ik thermos." And when looking at ivory periences were worth recording. For example, tude o pieces, Andy commented, "1 guess our ancestors while looking at a large wooden bowl (qantaq), started forgot to patent these gas hose connectors." Catherine Moore began to describe a similar bowl throug that had belonged to her father. Andy objected, When saying that we should focus exclusively on objects her of Personal Reflections: The Past Made Present in Iacobseri's colIection, while Marie insisted that bear b1 [acobseri's diverse colIection also evoked a wide Catherine's comments were important. This issue hind li range of personal experiences. Wooden bowls carne up several times and was never resolved. husbar were tremendously evocative. For example, Was- Moreover, the handling of the objects was sa- heads, silie took up a young boy's bowl, like one he had vored as a personal experience that would be divisia used as a child, and related the inerquutet (rules) talked about for years to come. In the process the N from his area about what could and could not be elders noticed everything; for example, an ivory a Nush placed in it. Looking at a large wooden snow story knife carved for a "Iefty" and a restored ax she rel ry 35:2 Fienup-Riordan: Yup'ik Elders in Museums 53 vould with the blade put on backwards. In three weeks named in Nelson's The Eskimo about Bering Strait te" we examined more than 2000 items-feeling each (1899:444), but until now a mystery. Thanks to Bill ould grip and point, looking down the line of each Fitzhugh and Susan Kaplan (1982), who asked me l arrow, opening each tobacco box. Our German what a paalraayak was years ago, my ears pricked Ii- hosts gave us space to work, permission to touch, up when I finally heard the answer. i. and privacy to explore, without which our work they could never have gone forward. They have mentioned paalraayak. And re- :ts During a lunch break Paul Iohn observed cently, l think it was the year before last, it was Peter Bolz, the Museum's North American curator, mentioned that there was such a creature in the moving his hands in enthusiastic explanation, and area behind Assigyugpak. It was said that paal- ike he called Peter "a real dancer." In fact, all the eld- taayiit were able to move around underground .... 1- ers danced through the colIection-chopping with One spring there was a couple who were up 1e axes, shooting arrows, digging for mousefood, in the mountains hunting squirrels in the area of shoveling snow, mixing akutaq, and making fire Assigyugpak. ln the past people were told not to n- go in the area behind Assigyugpak. Since the with the bow drill. Among the most dramatic ex- younger generations don't pay attention to the nd planations was Annie Blue's preparation of snuff teachings of the old, they have begun to travel um tobacco. Assembling seven tools from different around in that once-restricted area .... he parts of the colIection she first pretended to cut, One day when the couple went up in that pound, and strain the tobacco, mix it with ash, area behind their spring camp they saw an animal 3.S and then sniff it into one nostril, sneezing and that looked like a land otter behind them. It was wiping the water from her eyes when she was said that paalraayiit look like land otters. done. Her presentation was so realistic that the I'd like to look at that carving while l te11 group later questioned whether today's young peo- you this story. ple should be shown the video, lest they want to The animal they saw resembled a land otter like this, and its face looked like a land otter's )- revive the custom. face, but as they observed it, it would disappear Needless to say, we played with all the toys, into the ground and come back up again. And as ed including tops, darts, balls, and an ivory spindle the couple continued on, the sled they were c- spun in a bowl in a game called caukia. When we pulling began to sink into the ground. Norma11y, t looked at an eagle-feather dance wand (nayangan), the ground in the spring is still frozen hard. As the Wassilie walked around the table and stood couple walked and their feet began to sink into the Catherine up, telIing her to sing the taitnaur "ask- ground, a person suddenly emerged out of the ing song." Then he quickly left the room and re- ground near them. A total person appeared right turned carrying his coat as a gift, showing his in the direction of their camp as they were head- muscles, and dancing to the beat. In fact, every ing towards it. And the land otter they had seen s disappeared into the ground. day Ihad the overwhelming feeling of attending a It was said that paalraayiit were attracted to dance festival. Unlike the mask exhibit Agayuli- caagnitellrianun [people experiencing puberty, yararput, where exploring colIections had paved death, childbirth, miscarriage, etc.]. Paaltaayiit it, the way for a major series of events (Fienup- resided in the mountains. There are many moun- at, Riordan 1996), this was the event, not mere prepa- tains in our area as you know. Since there were e- ration. A book might be the result, but the action many mountains, the caagnitellriii were restricted was here and now. from roaming in them .... It was said that when paalraayiit carne to a person, they swam a11over his body. And many m Songs and. Stories carne swimming up and down in front of his nose ... Once they've entered a person, the person Just as the objects evoked names, remembrances, would soon be destroyed. and dramatic displays, they als o conjured a multi- They were paalraayiit for many years, then tude of stories. The numerous bows and arrows they'd turn into amikuut. Out on the lowlands started an avalanche of war stories that continued they'd see their tracks. When l was a girl I heard through lunches and long evenings at the hotel. people talking about seeing their tracks. I'd hear When Annie Blue saw a cutting board, it reminded them say that they saw some strange cracks in the s her of the story ofthe woman who turned into a lowlands back there. They'd say that they were bear by dressing in a bear skin with a board be- tracks of amikuut. hind her back to take revenge on her unfaithful Back when we observed the eyagyarat [tradí- husband Picartuli. When we looked at spear tional tabcos], they told us not to roam in the mountains during that time. It was said that the heads, Andy asked Paul to describe the detailed paalraayiit were attracted to caagtiitelltiit . .. And division of a seal after the hunt. later on in life, the person would begin to suffer My favorite story was when Annie Blue held from bodily ailments. Théy throw sharp stones at a Nushagak carving (IVA5353) in front of her while the caagnitellriit. They'd suffer from that later on she related an account of the creature paalraayak, in life and die (September 10,1997, Tape 2b). 54 Arctic AnthropoJogy 35:2 Fienup

Annie Blue's account meant different things upper part of the person's long hair was visible "They to those assembled in Berlin. For me it was excit- above the water with the bottom part down below. It's exr ing to hear her solve a long-standing scholarly rid- And when they looked down from their kayaks plane dle. But Annie's motive for telling this story was they saw the rest of her hair in the water. Since a dou] Qupurruyuli was a woman, her hair was very, not academic. As she ma de plain in her telling, desigq. [ rules guided a young person's actions in the past, very longoThey all continued to move forward in berrie, the ice. and we ignore these rules today at our peril. She Then just before they carne out into the open red. LI wants the younger generation to hear her stories water, the person behind the leader accidentally said it and gain awareness of their history so that they bumped into the tail of his kayak. Then suddenly that O) can avoid very real dangers in the world today. the ice jammed up in front of them. But, since 1 Later an enormous king salmon net ma de of they were dose to the open water, they dragged laughl braided willow bark inspired Paul John to tell the their kayaks through the ice the rest of the way. were i story of a king salmon swimming upriver, choos- Since this figure suddenly reminded me of puttin ing which net to enter based on its condition. Like that story I've just recounted it. The man who had hush Annie's story, Paul's tal e was not intended as re- Qupurruyuli as a power source was able to use it shoull membrances of the past as much as advice for the when he was in trouble in the oceano He was able they to help not only himself, but also his traveling future. companions using his Qupurruyuli (September 11, Academics like myself were not the elders' 1997, Tape 3a). primary audience. Rather, I was the mother, the guide. Yet listening, I learned much that would be Not all stories inspired by the collection were of great interest to both the Yup'ik and academic deemed appropriate to be toldo While looking at communities. For example, I learned that dog feces bags made of raven skins, the men remembered a We le was a common binding agent in shaping clay pots. raven story so embarrassing that they could not thuml Paul Iohn described how aged seal blood was used talk about it in front of us women lest it make us first as glue, and how carvers collected and dried sea uncomfortable when we had intercourse with our paint foam to use as sandpaper to polish wooden bowls. husbands. The women later agreed that they "did shap~ Examining two small carved faces with chin labrets, not mind not hearing it." imprl he explicitly stated the connection between humans Among the most moving accounts was Was- from and animals which I had always hoped to hear silie's and Catherine's description of a small drum sharí] (Fienup-Riordan 1990). He said, "The Nuni- (apqara'arcuun) used by men and women in pri- tened vaarmiut used these omaments on their chins. It vate. Holding the drum in front of their face, they In th; would hit it from the front to summon their avneq mincl was said that these represented walrus tusks. When ~ men wore them they were pretending to be walrus." (lit., "other half," felt presence) with song. AlI had whef Later we looked at a large mask with five- observed this when they were young and remem- lear fingered hands projecting from its side (Fienup- bered the power of these private ritual acts. Riordan 1996:79,180-96). Wassilie Berlin recog- Along with stories, Jacobsen's collection also nized it as a representation of qunguq reaching its evoked many songs. A loonskin hat for the sweat hand out of the sea and putting it down on the ice. bath brought out a song about a loon, complete with According to Wassilie, the hole in the hand was its call. Holding two stuffed squirrels from Nusha- where the hunter aimed his harpoon. Wassilie's gak, Annie Blue told a story about squirrel and comment constitutes the most explicit explanation ptarmigan singing a slow-style ingula song. Wassilie of this iconographic feature that I have ever heard. sang the arrow song of the famous warrior Apanuug- Objects als o evoked disclaimers about what pak while we looked at slate blades. In fact, objects they were not. For instance, Paul [ohn looked at made of slate were particularly poignant as they had one carved figure (IVA3677) and said, "This figure been used before these elders were bom.' doesn't represent Qupurruyuli. But let me mention We even recorded the sounds of the objects, it since it suddenly carne to mind." He then con- holding up a caribou-tooth belt to record the teeth tinued with arare account of Qupurruyuli, the tinkling against empty bullet shells or shaking a woman of the sea with flowing hair, who created a pair of thumbless dance mittens to hear the wooden pathway through the ice for the hunter who dangles. Marie's response to one song was, "That's owned her as a power source (see also Fienup- a good one, we'll have to bring it back." Just as ob- Riordan 1994:258). jects evoked songs and stories, we sometimes wou treated songs and sounds as objects to take home. heh' Last but not least, we told jokes. When we When the traveling companions became eu- rious they looked and saw a pair of human hands looked at a large wooden bowl, Paul said off the wel~ in front of his kayak visible from down below. record that it was Apanuugpak's homebrew pot, be bl And since the hands were extended like this, the but said he wouldn't say that on the tape because eve~ ice in the front was being moved to the sides, mak- it wasn't true. When examining a fishskin bag with thes' ing a pathway for the kayak to glide through. The delicately inset raven's foot designs, Paul quipped, of o~ y35:2 Fienup-Riordan: Yup'ik Elders in Museums 55

"They represent our impending trip to Germany. young people, that they would begin to stimulate w. It's exactly what happened recently. Here is the jet their minds." plane and here are its tracks." When we looked at Andy Paukan, the teacher, als o spoke of his a double bowl with a handle (IVA3902), Wassilie desire that what we had learned would be brought designated it an iqvarcuutet, a device for gathering home for the benefit of the younger generation: n berries, one side for blackberries and the other for "Our work seems to have opened up times ahead en red. Looking at a similar bowl (IVA4217), Paul and filled it with information .... With this work, said it was a bowl for twins, and Wassilie added our roots and culture will come closer to us." Yet '( that one side was for pee and one for poop. his pride was mixed with regret. He concluded, This Yup'ik ribaldry brought on peels of "Evidently, [our ancestors]lived a clean life. Their laughter in the privacy of colIections. When we life was very good. By looking at their work, I envy were in public, however, Wassilie was constantly them." putting his finger to his lips in a futile attempt to A determined leader as well as an eloquent d hush us giggling women. Catherine agreed that we orator, Paul [ohn's words on his last day in Berlin should not laugh in the presence of strangers, as were perhaps the most pointed and far-reaching, they might think we were laughing at them. moving beyond the walls of the museum. Doing I, his first fieldwork in a non-English-speaking coun- try, he had been observing the German people, and Elders'Reflections on the Broader he was impressed: "Here in Germany, I see that vere Significance of Collections people truly live according to their tradition. I see .t that they have kept their ways and traditions." Ia We looked at many rare things while in Berlin: He contrasted their cultural integrity to the thumbless gloves worn by a young girl during her situation back home in southwestern Alaska. LS first menstruation, an eagle-feather hood, a .ur painted bladder, and ice skates carved in the When I think about our home I feel sad realiz- id shape of puffins. Yet I think the elders were not as ing that we Yupiit are not holding on to our tradi- impressed by what they saw as by what they heard tional ways. And through my observation of this .8- from our hosts and from each other. Along with land and its people, I've realized that by not holding onto our traditional ways our home and its peo- ~m sharing what they knew, each elder eagerly lis- ple have become confused about their own identity. i- tened to companions, learning as welI as teaching. Since our ways are confused and our minds ~y ln the middle of our trip Andy said that he was re- are not in harmony, our culture has become weak. eq minded of what his father had taught him-that If pictures of the things we saw here were seen by .ad when you die you are stilllearning. And we were our descendants, it might help to reuni te the peo- 1- learning first and foremost from each other. pIe. And our descendants might begin to believe Wassilie spoke eloquently on the last day of in themselves and their culture. Perhaps they will ) OUIvisit. He expressed his gratitude to Jacobsen, soon desire to live like their ancestors and begin to who lived in such a harsh environment so far from unite in their ways and thinking. th home to colIect these objects. He also expressed his Even though I've heard about the vast ocean I had not pictured it in my mind before. And since gratitude to the museum for the good care they were I carne here, by looking at the time difference I giving these things. He was impressed by the metic- now believe that we indeed have reached the lie ulous organization of objects and glad that they other side of the oceano When night comes to our 19- would be there for his children's children to ob- families back home it would be morning here. Our s serve: "Gosh, I'm so grateful for what he did. If he places are so far apart. ad hadn't colIected them, they would have disappeared Though we live far apart we've realized that long ago. Not one of the items would be visible now people here have held onto their culture, and if oUIcounterparts, the white people, hadn't col- though this place is populated, life here is pretty lected them." Most of all he expressed gratitude to quiet ... and we haven't seen any disturbance or his fellow group members for all they had taught problems between people .... en God indeed created many tribes of people him. He had not realized how much there was to with our own traditional ways and beliefs which s learn from these old things, and he was grateful that were to be practiced until the end of the world. he had been chosen to come. Later he added that he would like to do this kind of work again, although Finally, Paul spoke about how our work in he hoped he would not have to travel so faro the museum might help to remedy this situation. Catherine also expressed her gratitude, as welI as her desire that the things we had learned When we were looking at the objects that be brought home: "I'm thankful that we carne here were once used by our ancestors I began to realize even though it's far from home. My hope is that if that they were persevering and hardworking peo- th these things of our ancestors were seen by a group pIe. They had total control of their lives and were d, of our people, or if they were used to educate our self-reliant. Evidently, they took total responsibil- 56 Arctic Anthropology 35:2 Fienu

ity for their lives even though it was a very diffi- tional fieldwork paradigm in cultural anthropol- lesso: cult lifestyle. Though they didn't have excellent ogy. Whereas anthropologists are known to traveI work tools, their workmanship was so fine. The fact that to distant lands to study the resident natives, in they had taken care of themselves could be seen this case native elders traveled to one home of an- Durir by their work. Western-made material was totally thropology-the museum-to do their own field- becor gone from their work. Gosh, our ancestors took work, coming to their own conclusions about the charge of their lives, truly living in their tradi- and o tional culture .... value of the ethnographic collections they ex- tory. Since we have no understanding, we've plored. Archaeologists and material culture spe- their abandoned our cultural ways. But those of us that cialists within anthropology have always done the pl carne here have been granted more understanding research in museum storerooms, and Franz Boas, focus regarding our people. We have a better under- Alfred Kroeber, and George Bryan Gordon are but have standing that we should retain our cultural ways a few anthropologists who had indigenous people nous until the end of the world .... working in their collections. The thrust of their visits My vision is this. Many of us seem to have work was to increase non-natives' knowledge and and ~ been in the dark for many years. And now, stories understanding of native peoples, but in this case it hour~ and information about our roots have emerged is the natives who seek an understanding of both from this unknown, far away place across the cess G oceano Now that the knowledge is out, I hope our collections and the collection process so that they mov, work together will be written and be presented to can use them for their own ends. contr1 our people. I hope that the pictures of our work Our project is neither the first nor the only stanc will be shared with the people. And if it's possi- one of its kind. Bernadette Driscoll (1995) traveled time, ble, I hope the objects would be exhibited in the to European and Canadian museums with Cana- mova villages or at a museum in Bethel. ... dian Inuit seamstresses in the 1980s to study Inuit restri If our people begin to see them and begin to clothing styles and the terminology and symbol- understand the culture of our ancestors they might ism associated with them. This fieldwork triggered begin to believe and gain pride in their own iden- a renaissance in clothing manufacture in some tity. I envision our people gaining more faith in Canadian communities (see also Issenman 1985, their own identity by seeing the objects or seeing their pictures or reading about them in books. My 1990, 1991). In the early 1980s Susan Kaplan (per- hope is that our work will bring our people closer sonal communication, 1998) invited North Green- to their own culture. land Inuit to work in the museum, and continues to work with Labrador Inuit using the Peary- MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Much more important than any specific informa- Center collections. In the 1990s the repatriation tion they evoke, Paul sees collections as tools capa- movement has prompted increased access to and ble of teaching self-reliance and pride to young scrutiny of museum collections by members of people who have grown up as second-class citizens various native groups, often in collaboration with in an English-only world. Knowledge is power, and museum professionals. For example, Deanna it is Paul's strong hope that young people use this Kingston (1999) has worked with King Island eld- long-hidden knowledge as ammunition in their ers in the film archives of the National Museum of battle to take control of their land and lives. Natural History, while Steve Loring and Aron Since our return, these elders have been hon- Crowell of the Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Cen- ored in different ways. Catherine Moore's family ter have explored NMNH collections with a num- gave her a surprise birthday feast on her return to ber of Alaska Natives. Anchorage. Paul [ohn has publicly described his Yup'ik elders' work in the Museum für Võlk- experiences, eloquently stating how looking at erkunde is an example of what I have described these old things has increased his understanding elsewhere as "visual repatriation" (Fienup-Riordan of his own people. Togiak threw a village-wide 1996:23-30). As in Yup'ik elders' comments on by eff potluck dinner for Annie Blue on the Friday fol- masks and mask-making in preparation for the name lowing her return, after which she showed the pie- Agayuliyararput exhibit, their primary concern never tures she had taken with her pocket camera and was not to reclaim museum objects but to re-own later, described her experiences. In October she was the knowledge and experiences that the objects the ef flown into Anchorage to receive the Alaska Feder- embodíed. And, as in the mask exhibit, instead of grass ation of Natives' "Elder of the Year" award, in- resentment at what has been lost and taken from seum cluding a beautiful wristwatch which she joked them, elders expressed profound gratitude toward elders she would keep on German time. both the collectors, without whom the objects lose a would surely have been destroyed, and the muse- ways Conclusion ums, who so carefully preserve these objects imagi today. While repatriation and struggles for the matio The title of this paper, "Fieldwork Turned on Its physical control of objects remain contentious is- throu Head," refers to the project's reversal of the tradi- sues, Yup'ik elders' work in collections provides a the p y35:2 Fienup-Riordan: Yup'ik Elders in Museutns 57

01- lessonin how native access to collections can End Notes rvel workfor everyone's benefit. 1. ln fact, the outset of the Krause expedition was ln There is a lesson here for museology as well. a major reason that the Royal Museum was able to f an- Duringrecent decades, museum professionals have secure funding for [acobsen's expedition. Berlin ld- beeomemore specialized, often training in curation the and eonservation rather than anthropology or his- high society had no intention of being bested by Bremen. tory.They are not researchers themselves, and e- their primary responsibility is to the objects, not to 2. I mention this battle to alert future researchers the people whose ancestors made them. Their as, to problems I encountered while obtaining pass- foeuson the care and protection of objects can ports for Yup'ik-speaking elders. Our negotiation but havedisastrous consequences for visiting indige- .ple with Passport Services was more than difficult. ln nous groups. Ihave accompanied Yup'ik elders on the end neither Paul Iohn nor Catherine Moore r visitsto museums thousands of miles from home could receive a regular passport as neither could md and watched as their days in collections shrank to se it produce two qualifying documents with the same hours as they waited for museum handlers to ac- name and date ofbirth. Both had baptismal certifi- th eess objects, present them one at a time, and re- ley cates and recorded birthdates in Catholic mission movethem before going on to the next piece. ln records, but as Paul John was a much-loved only contrast, our German hosts provided ideal circum- child with a multitude of names and Catherine y stanees to explore collections, giving us the space, iled was born during the 1918 influenza epidemic, fol- time, and privacy we needed. As a result elders lowing which her parents died and she was 1- moved into collections, owning them in ways more ruit adopted, names and dates in these official records restrieted access would have made impossible. were conflicting. Thanks to the intervention of 1- Although a number of indigenous people Senator Ted Stevens' office, both elders received ired have made short visits to the Museum für Vôlk- temporary passports, but otherwise neither would erkunde's world-famous ethnographic collections, have been able to make the trip. I, ours was the first native group to carry out a sys- per- tematic study of an entire collection. Staff mem- 3. This is a real strength of [acobsen's collection, as m- bers were initially both concerned for the safety of he had intentionally sought out "ancient things." 3S their collections and wary of native efforts to reclaim them. They were, however, willing to allow the visit, and their respect for these indigenous re- Acknowledgments. Iwant to acknowledge my searehers grew as the days went by. Our work- friend and teacher, Jim VanStone, as the inspira- d spaee was in a large, well-lit, open hallway tion for this article. Jim was originally invited to between the museum's storage roam and exhibit travei to Germany with our group, not as an out- th spaee, and passing staff members often stopped to side expert but as an elder among elders. A bad wateh the elders' animated interactions with col- back prevented him from making the trip, and I es- d- lections, ask questions, and share in their excite- pecially wanted him to share in the high points of of ment. Moreover, elders' expressions of thanks our expedition. reassured them that it was not the objects that eld- Jim is a renaissance anthropologist of the first l- ers coveted but the opportunity to use them both arder, and his interests are among the most diverse 1- to teach and to learn. Not one object was broken ar of any arctic scholar I know. From our first meet- damaged during our three-week stay. lnstead each ing in Chicago in 1974, when I was an energetic k- was enriched with myriad bits of information, sto- student completely lacking in the experiences he ries, and songs. already possessed in abundance, he has never em As I boarded the plane to Berlin, exhausted failed to offer sound criticism and good advice. On by efforts to get passports for elders with multiple my draft dissertation he politely inquired, "Are names and dates of birth, I vowed that I would you sure red salmon run before kings?" No other never again try to take elders to objects. A week colleague has given me more encouragement, a later, however, I knew absolutely that it was worth debt I can acknowledge but never repay. the effort. lronically, though fragile objects like Work in Germany was made possible by a If grass socks and gut-skin parkas will endure in mu- grant from the National Science Foundation, Of- seum collections, elders will not. If we do not bring fice of Polar Programs, and the Rockefeller Foun- d elders into museums over the next decade, we will dation. The project could not have gane forward lose an opportunity to understand collections in without the help ofthe Museum für Võlkerkunde, ways that Jacobsen and his contemporaries never especially their Curator for North American Eth- imagined. More important than any specific infor- nology, Peter Bolz. The trànslations were prepared mation, in the hands of community leaders by my associate, Marie Meade, who has been a full throughout southwestern Alaska this knowledge of partner in this research project. Thanks also to Igor a the past has the potential to shape the future. Krupnik for the invitation to present these prelimi- 58 Arctic Anthropology 35:2 nary results at the Jesup Centenary Conference at "Leningrad Collection" of the Museum for the American Museum of Natural History in No- Folklore). Jahrbuch Preubiscber Kulturbesitz, vember 1997. Band XXIX. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin. Finally, thanks to Susan Kaplan, Allen Me- Issenman, Betty Cartney, my husband Dick Riordan, and, of course, 1985 Inuit Clothing: Construction and Motifs. Jim VanStone, for their many useful comments on Études/lnuit/Studies 9(2):101-119. an earlier draft of this paper. 1990 Inuit and Museums: Allied to Preserve Arctic Patrimony. Paper presented at the Eighth References Inuit Studies Conference, Quebec, Canada. Dissellhoff, H. D. 1991 Inuit Power and Museums. lnformation 1935 Bemerkungen zu einegan Eskimo-masken der North: The Arctic lnstitute of North America Sammlung Sacobsen des Berliner Museum 17(3):1-7. für Vi::ilkerkunde (Observations on an Eskimo [acobsen, [ohan Adrian Shaman mask in the Berlin Museum für 1884 Capitain [acobseti's Reise an der Nordwest- Vi::ilkerkunde). Baessler-Archiv 18:130-137. kuste Amerikas, 1881-1883, edited by A. 1936 Bemerkungen zu Fingermasken der Bering- Woldt, Leipzig. meer-Eskimo (Observations on Fingermasks 1977 Alaskan Voyage 1881-1883: An Expedition to of Bering Sea Eskimos). Baessler-Archiv 19:181-187. the Northwest Coast of America. Abridged translation by Erna Gunther, from the Ger- Driscoll, Bernadette man text of Adrian Woldt. University of 1995 Silent Echoes: The Displacement and Reap- Chicago Press, Chicago. pearance of Copper Inuit Clothing. Paper presented at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Kingston, Deanna American Anthropological Association, 1999 Remembering Our Namesakes. In: Screening Washington, D.e. Culture: Constructing lmage and Ideiitity, edited by Heather Norris Nicholson. University Fienup-Riordan, Ann of Exeter Press. 1990 Eskimo Iconography and Symbolism: An In- troduction. Études/lnuit/Studies Krause, Aurel 14(1-2):7-12. 1956 The Tlinget lndians: Results of a Trip to the Northwest Coast of America and Bering 1994 Boundaries and Passages: Rule and Ritual in Straits. Translated by Erna Gunther. Ameri- Yup'ik: Eskimo Oral Tradition. University of can Ethnological Society Monograph 26. Uni- Oklahoma Press, Norman. versity of Washington Press, Seattle. 1996 The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks: Originally.published in German, 1885. Agayuliyararput (Our Way of Making Prayer). Nelson, Edward William University of Washington Press, Seattle. 1899 The Eskimo about Bering Strait. Bureau of Fitzhugh, William W., and Susan A. Kaplan American Ethnology Annual Report for 1982 lnua: Spirit World ofthe Bering Sea Eskimo. 1896-1897, VaI. 18, Pt. I. Reprinted 1983. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.e. D.e. Hipszer, Hermine Thode-Arora, Hilke 1971 Les Masques de Chamans du Musée Ethno- 1989 Für funfzig Pfennig um die Welt. Campus graphique de Berlin (Shaman Masks in the Verlag, Frankfurt/Main, p. 52. Berlin Museum of Ethnography). Baessler- Westphal-Hellbusch, Sigrid, Gerd Koch, and Horst Archiv 19:421-450. Hartmann Hopfner, Gerd 1973 100 [ahre Museum für Vi::ilkerkunde. 1995 Die Ruckfuhrung der "Leningrad-Sammlung" Baessler-Archiv 20. Beitrage zur Vi::ilk- des Museums für Vi::ilkerkunde (Return of the erkunde, Dietrich Reimer Verlag.