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Wednesday, April 24, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Alaska natives show masterworks
Sixty thousand filter-
feeding baleen whales in the
Pacific Ocean head north each
spring, undertaking a great
journey to reach the nutrient-
rich waters of Alaska. They9ll
migrate along the southeast-
ern archipelago and southern
coast of Alaska before passing
through the Aleutian Island
chain. There, they9ll turn
north once more and swim
up the Bering Sea to com-
plete their 6,000-mile voyage
before entering the richest
phytoplankton waters of all,
the Arctic Ocean.
Along the way, the great
behemoths swim by countless
seals, sea otters, coastal brown
bears, walrus, bald eagles, sea
lions, and polar bears. Schools
of herring and salmon swim
underneath them; innumer-
able flocks of waterfowl fly
overhead. Along the shores
of the Bering Sea, the first
whale9s arrival arouses an
innate longing within the tra-
ditional peoples, one that has
been occurring for millennia
4they9re irresistibly com-
pelled to commence the hunt-
ing seasons for all animals yet
again.
The Alaskan Native
Peoples still closely follow
the annual hunting cycle,
although their equipment is
mostly non-traditional now.
Another change to their life-
style is that certain parts of
these animals get utilized as
material for artwork that will
be acquired by the outside
world, artwork that respect-
fully honors the world of, and
their life in, the Far North.
The 21 peoples compro-
mising <Alaska Natives=
come from one of three pri-
mary populations 4 the
Coastal Region Peoples of the
south, west, and north; The
Athabascan Peoples of inte-
rior Alaska; The Northwest
Coast Peoples of Alaska9s
southeastern archipelago.
They are comparable to the
three language groups of
Europe 4 the Romance,
Germanic, and Slavic nations.
Each has varying languages
and cultures, but within these
three primary groups they
remain relatively similar.
The people and artwork of
Don Johnston, Terresa White,
and Mark Tetpon 4 Aleut,
Yup9ik, Inupiaq 4 have simi-
larities while being distinctly
different from that of the
Athabascan and Northwest
Coast peoples.
Don, Aleut, moved to
Anchorage 35 years ago to
work construction but suf-
fered a somewhat fortuitous
back injury. While recovering,
he met the highly acclaimed
Inupiaq baleen basket weaver
James Omnik Sr. James taught
him the art and Don eventu-
ally became so skilled that
some are now heralding him
as perhaps the finest baleen
basket-weaver ever.
Baleen baskets are woven
with the filtering plates found
inside the mouth of plank-
ton-eating whales. Baleen
has a strength and flexibility
comparable to fiberglass, so
attempting to weave a small,
intricate basket of this rigid-
ity demands strength and fine
motor dexterity at the same
time. Typically, an elegantly
carved walrus ivory handle or
finial sits atop the basket9s lid.
Don9s contemporary per-
spectives on the traditional
art-form not only explore the
possibilities of what baleen
baskets can be but led him to
capture the 2017 Best of Show
Award at the renowned and
juried Native American art
show 4 the Heard Museum
Indian Fair and Market in
Phoenix, Arizona. Seldom
does an artist from Alaska
gain entrance to this annual
event; to win Best of Show is
unprecedented.
Mark Tetpon, Inupiat, is
a wood-walrus ivory-bone
master carver who is virtually
unknown outside of Alaska
and the Pacific Northwest.
He has done numerous shows
in Anchorage and Seattle,
where his pieces are quickly
acquired, thus secreting away
knowledge of his works and
awareness about his prodi-
gious talent.
Mark9s pieces depict sea
mammals or birds as they
are understood within the
spiritual realms of his people.
A sculptured polar bear or
walrus might be drumming;
an honoring mask that depicts
a loon or seal9s body will be
surrounded by a dozen smaller
sculptures paying homage to
the life of The People.
Mark9s father, John, from
the traditional village of
Shaktoolik along the Bering
Sea Coast near Nome, men-
tored him in the ways of the
Inupiaq people, during Mark9s
early artistic endeavors. John
still collaborates with Mark
on some pieces.
Bronze and ceramic sculp-
tor Terresa White, Yup9ik
Eskimo, is being lauded as
one of the blossoming talents
in the Native American art
world. Her fresh perspectives
on the ancient Yup9ik belief
of transformation garnered a
Best of Sculpture Award in
2018 at the Santa Fe Indian
Market, the other apex event
for Native American art
venues.
Transformation concerns
the traditional Yup9ik belief
that a human can at least spir-
itually, if not also physically,
become an animal4and vice
versa4if proper behaviors are
maintained. Thus, humans and
the animals reside in a type of
metaphysical brother/sister-
hood coexistence. Terresa9s
works honor the interconnec-
tion of all beings, often focus-
ing on the defining moments
of the metamorphosis.
Note: The Marine
Mammals Protection Act
of 1972 limited the tak-
ing of bowhead and beluga
whales in U.S. waters to the
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PHOTO PROVIDED
Baleen Whales Breaching Coast of Alaska.
Inupiaq who live along the
coast. However, other Alaska
Native Peoples along Alaska9s
coastlines may harvest other
marine mammals. There has
long been a tradition of trad-
ing sea mammal parts among
the different groups, so any
Alaska Native may acquire
the materials necessary for
producing artwork from it.
Once the sea mammal part
has been hand-worked, it can
be sold as long as the work
will remain within the United
States.
These artists will be offer-
ing an in-person show in
Sisters April 26-28. Friday:
Artist Reception from 4 to
7 p.m. with Jim Cornelius
providing music. Saturday:
art-making demonstration.
Sunday: artists available till
mid-afternoon. All events will
take place at Raven Makes
Gallery at 182 E. Hood Ave.
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