Newsletter - July

Not Just Another Pretty Doll at UAF Museum Exhibit

The University of Alaska Museum, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, has opened an extraordinary exhibit featuring more than 250 dolls and human figurines from prehistoric cultures to contemporary doll makers.

The exhibit, entitled Not Just a Pretty Face: Dolls and Human Figurines in Alaska Native Cultures, was developed by the museum's department of ethnology and history, and reveals the rich tradition of dolls and human figurines in children's play and in adult rituals and ceremonies.

Archaeological records trace the creation and use of the human form back to prehistoric cultures of the Bering Sea (100 BC to 1100 AD). These early human figurines are acclaimed for their sophistication and were carved from walrus ivory.

Early accounts from travelers to Alaska in the 18th and 19th centuries and from Alaska Native oral history make clear that both adults and children used human figurines. The exhibit refers to them by calling the children's version "dolls" and the adult's version "human figurines".

To learn about the different uses of dolls, an advisory team was formed of Alaska Natives, doll makers, anthropologists, academic advisors, an evaluator, and museum staff. While dolls were used mostly for play and to foster skills useful in adulthood, human figurines had important ritual functions for adults. In many parts of Alaska, there were stories of shaman using figurines to maintain the well being of the community. Alaska Native people also used figurines as charms or amulets to repel evil or bring about good fortunes.

Contact with Westerners brought about changes as Alaska Native doll makers began adopting Western materials into their doll making and Christianity replaced or suppressed Alaska Native religions. Today doll making continues to reinforce traditional aesthetics, roles, and practices for future generations and perpetuates cultural pride, creativity, and innovation.

The Not Just a Pretty Face: Dolls and Human Figurines in Alaskan Native Cultures exhibit will be on display through January 10, 2000.

Gaining passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act required united support from a wide range of people, both Native and non-Native. Elmer Rasmuson, chairman emeritus of National Bank of Alaska, in 1968 took an early leadership role in the Alaska business community when he stated his support for settlement of Alaska Native land claims.

"It was an unresolved situation, and the Natives were entitled to have it settled. We all needed to have it settled and for the reasons that I gave in my testimony, I felt that it was beneficial for the entire state. I don't think I can say it any better," Rasmuson said in a recent interview in his Anchorage office.

Rasmuson offered his testimony at historic hearings, held in Anchorage in February of 1968, by the U.S. Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and chaired by Sen. Henry M. Jackson. At the hearings, the Governor's Task Force on Native Land Claims, appointed by then Gov. Wally Hickel, unveiled its proposal for settling Native land claims. Hickel's Attorney General, Edgar Paul Boyko, suggested the creation of the task force so the state and Alaska Natives could find common ground. The legislative committee of the Task Force, headed by Willie Hensley, included Emil Notti, John Borbridge Jr., Alice Brown, Richard Frank, Charles Franz, Byron Mallott, Hugh Nicholls, Harvey Samuelsen and Don Wright.

At the time he testified, Rasmuson had recently completed a three-year term as mayor of Anchorage and was serving as president of the University of Alaska Board of Regents.

"I am here and I believe I can make my best contribution in the testimony by emphasizing the value that will accrue to all Alaskans by a prompt and generous settlement of the Native land claims," he said in his testimony. "The benefit is from both a material and human standpoint."

Rasmuson said the proposed bills to settle Native claims were not "special interest legislation," but rather that everyone would gain from the "preservation of the finest human values for all." "This settlement should be treated not just as the extinguishment of a debt - however legal or moral be the obligation - but as a social program of most practical application. The proposal involves the dedication of a significant amount of our material resources to enable a vital part of our Alaskan population to participate in our development and contribute their leadership. The greatest undeveloped resource we have in Alaska today is our Native population.

"What are these benefits? First, there would be the material wealth which would be utilized in Alaska. The Natives are permanent residents of Alaska. The settlement needs to be generous, because we all know that it is the surplus over our subsistence that is saved and re-invested. Thus the Native population becomes a strong contributory force to our economy which in turn would generate new business, broaden our tax base, and create additional investments.

"The second great benefit is the full participation of the people most concerned. This program furthers private initiative. The Natives have demonstrated their own great capacity and they need the tools to do the job. The third gain, and is to all our Alaskans, is the contribution of the Native leadership. This is possible only when the Natives have the confidence of their own wealth and the practice of their own management. I maintain that a new and substantive approach is necessary to achieve the desired results of prompt introduction into our Alaska economy and society of the dynamic cultural, spiritual, and economic force of a very great developing people. Delay is costly to us all in escalating price and lost productivity."

It would take four long years before the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act would become law on December 18, 1971. But it is likely the early and strong support of leaders such as Rasmuson that went a long way toward ensuring passage of the historic legislation.