By Aaron Leggett, CIRI History Intern and CIRI and Eklutna shareholder

Alaska Native clothing throughout the state provides many examples of ingenious adaptation to the environment by the indigenous populations. In this article, I would like to focus on clothing worn by the Dena’ina prior to the introduction of European clothes and also mention some of the adaptations that were made after contact.

My main reference for this article is “The Ethnography of the Tanaina,” by Cornelius Osgood, (Tanaina is the former spelling for Dena’ina), I use this book because it is the most complete study on traditional Dena’ina life that there is.

For summer clothing, both sexes wore a tailored undergarment constructed from soft, tanned caribou or sheep skin with the hair removed. This garment was one piece that covered from the neck to halfway between the knees and ankles. Over this a shirt made from the same material was worn. For the men, the shirt fell a little above the knees, while for the women it reached halfway between the knees and ankles.
For footwear, they had boots that went up to the knees and were made from caribou with the hair left on. The Dena’ina used brown bear or beluga skin for the soles, which lasted up to a year. To extend the life of the soles, people smeared porcupine grease on the footwear to help repel water.

An interesting fact about footwear is that people believed if children covered their feet in the summer, they would spoil bear hunting.

Winter clothing was similar to that worn in the summer except the people used caribou skin with the feet attached. The hair was left on and worn against the body. People wore a variety of fur parkas over this, depending on the weather and the area that they lived. For example, in the warmer areas of Lower Cook Inlet near Ninilchik they wore fur coats made from lynx and marten and while hunting they wore fur parkas made from ground squirrel. In addition, people who lived farther to the north in areas such as Talkeetna added additional overgarments and fur linings as the weather grew colder. Fur hats were worn throughout the entire Dena’ina region and were made from a variety of animals such as muskrat, beaver, tree squirrel, marten and silver fox. Mittens were made primarily from sheepskin with the wool on the inside. The mittens went almost to the elbows and were trimmed with various kinds of fur.

Also since the Dena’ina are the only Athabascan group to be near saltwater they borrowed, but also refined some of the clothing items that would be needed to gather resources from the ocean. For example, they fashioned waterproof rain jackets which were stretched around the opening of their Baqidin, or, as the Russians called them, “Baidarkas.” These coats were made from bear or beluga gut with a waterproof stitch, with brown bear being the best since it was the most durable. Another item used along Lower Cook Inlet were waterproof wading boots made out of bearskin coated in porcupine grease to waterproof them.

Dena’ina clothing and adornment varied depending on the amount of wealth that a person or the family had. The wealthiest members of the group incorporated rare or exotic items into their clothes. For example, rich men might have a parka made from about 20 eagles, using only the soft down. For trimming, the rich preferred to use marten, ermine or sea otter and didn’t like to use mink because that was the trimming for people who couldn’t afford or obtain anything better.
Today, when we think of Athabascan clothing, we think of the beautiful beadwork that is still highly regarded and continues to develop as an art. What did the Athabascans use prior to the introduction of beads? They used porcupine quills, although the designs were different in that they were geometric in shape and were repeating designs, incorporating the colors blue, black, red and brown. Also since Athabascans were a semi-nomadic group decoration on their clothing was one way of showing artistic expression.

An item that denoted prestige and wealth was dentalium shells or, as they called them, k’enq’ena. Dena’ina obtained these shells from trading vast amounts of fur with the Ahtna. The Ahtna obtained these shells by trading copper with the Tlingit, who in turn traded with natives in British Columbia. Those who could afford these shells used them in both their clothing and also as personal adornment in pierced ears and pierced nasal septums. Another use for these shells was in ceremonial clothing or regalia of the Dena’ina Chief or Duyeq.

With the Dena’ina acting as middlemen to the fur traders who wanted the resources to the north, we know that the Dena’ina were able to obtain unheard of wealth. This led, of course, to the incorporation of European trade goods such glass beads, wool shirts and cloth that eventually replaced most traditional day-to-day clothing.

Fortunately, thanks to the late CIRI shareholder and Dena’ina elder Shem Pete, there is fabulous collection of regalia and items associated with them at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art among the items are an eagle headdress, puffin beak rattles, a chief’s wool shirt with dentalium and a beautiful Chief’s Necklace that has over 160 Dentalium shells and almost as many glass beads. Thanks to Shem’s knowledge, we know that it was passed from one chief to the next starting around the early 20th century.

Regardless of a person’s background and history, I feel that clothing is something that can change over time. Just as our ancestors made adaptations as a result of changes in their living conditions or environment, so should today’s descendents regarding what is considered Native clothing. For several years, I have looked for something that I could wear in the summer or to the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in the fall. The obvious choice would be to get a kuspuk as the Yup’ik call them. Although they aren’t specifically Athabascan, while doing research, I discovered that indeed Shem Pete had one that was made by another Dena’ina elder. When I studied the photo of Shem Pete wearing his kuspuk, I noticed that the rickrack had a geometric repeating pattern, much like Athabascan quill work. So last summer I had one made that has both those geometric designs and also has my clan colors of red and white, representing the Alex family of Eklutna.