Dolls express the character of the community from which they originate, whether it's a warrior doll from Japan or a porcelain doll from the Czech Republic. But few are as vibrant and mysterious as Inuit packing dolls, now on display at the University of Alberta.
The 17 packing dolls, positioned in a glass-encased exhibit in the lobby of the Human Ecology Building, instinctively evoke a curiosity about a different culture and of an evolving art form that was part of Arctic life for thousands of years before Christ's birth.
In Mother's Hood: Inuit Packing Dolls of Taloyoak showcases the university's Inuit packing doll collection fashioned by the women of Taloyoak, a tiny hamlet of 850 residents in Nunavut's high Arctic.
"There is a whole skill set I never knew existed. It made me address new materials and it certainly sparked my curiosity," says co-curator Anne Bissonnette.
As a whole, the exhibit pays homage to women's sewing skills, imagination and resourcefulness. However, each individual doll also reflects the Inuit's use of oral tradition to pass on history and mythology.
These collectible packing dolls differ from most dolls by showing animals in a human pose wearing garments. Each doll represents an Arctic animal — raven, fish, bear, seal, walrus or even a mythical creature such as the sea goddess Sedna or the vengeful Thundergirl.
Every animal doll packs a baby in an amauti, a pouch behind the mother's back that is part of the coat structure. This universal mother-child theme represents the Inuit's devotion to family dovetailing with a profound respect for the animal world and the Earth.
Constructed from warm, durable duffle, a wool cloth the Hudson Bay Company introduced into northern communities, it has for decades been used as coat fabric, mukluk lining and blanket fabric.
"These are collector dolls valued at about $350 made under a fair trade agreement. They were never meant for children to be played with."
Craft co-op history
Although Inuit have carved dolls for several millennia, Taloyoak Crafts Co-operative, the first of its kind to create packing dolls, was formed in 1974 with federal government aid. It operated until 1986 when funding stopped.
The co-op was rebooted in 1995 as Taluq Designs and is subsidized by the Nunavut Development Corporation (NDC), a Crown corporation that supports northern business.
As NDC president Darrin Nichol explains, in the late 1950s and 1960s, the federal government moved Inuit people from their traditional lands to settlement areas. "This very traditional community only has remote access by aircraft at certain times of the week. The only way to move product in or out is by plane and the costs are very high. For instance, four litres of milk is $14 to $18. A loaf of bread is $6 to $8."
Back in the 1970s there was little economic development and unemployment in Taloyoak skyrocketed to 40 per cent. Federal agents instituted Taloyoak Crafts in an effort to use the women's already finely honed sewing skills.
"Historically, this has been one of the most expensive communities in Canada to live in, and the ability to generate economic development is a challenge simply because of the high cost of utilities and freight."
Almost 40 years later economic development is still slim and unemployment levels remain high. At Taloyoak, about 10 artists create packing dolls for Taluq Designs. On average they sell about 250 collectibles each year based on market demand.
In total Nunavut's subsidized arts and crafts cottage industry generates about $30 million annually, a welcome supplement that provides additional food security against the high cost of living.
"If the folks didn't have this opportunity, they would look for assistance from another social envelope. It's about keeping busy and having pride and dignity."
Women as seamstresses
In Inuit society men took on the role of hunters and carvers. Women were the nurturers who raised children, skinned game, cooked and sewed clothes. Dolls were a teaching device used as little girls learned how to cure leather and fur, how to fashion clothes and how to sew.
At the university exhibit of this ancient tradition, the packing dolls also reveal women were society's storytellers — the gatekeepers of culture and legend.
One of Bissonnette's favourite dolls is Sedna, the sea goddess who populated the oceans with animal life and is both feared and revered by the Inuit. At the exhibit she is represented as half woman with a whale tail.
Pointing to Sedna, Bissonnette says, "She has a great facial tattoo like a lot of Inuit women used to have and she's missing three fingers. In one version of the story, she fell in love with an evil bird spirit. Against her father's wishes she went off with the bird spirit but became unhappy. Her father came to rescue her by kayak, but the bird spirit attacked them and a great storm arose. Her father threw her off the boat and she tried to hold on. To survive he chopped off her fingers and the tips became the sea animals. The story could be about many things – a disobedient child that didn't want her father's advice or it could be about life in the seas."
Another beautifully crafted mythological creature is Thundergirl. "She was one of two orphans. When the community moved to a new hunting ground, they didn't take the orphans with them. Left to die, they instead turned into thunder and lightning and took their revenge on everyone in the camp. It's a morality tale, a story about taking care of orphans."
Another striking doll is an upright polar bear packing a cub in a bright red amauti. One of the panels reads, "No Inuit woman wants to wear a red packing parka if she can help it." However, red is such a popular colour with southerners, the doll became part of the collection. It also has the distinction of being one of four official motifs for Nunavut hand-made arts and crafts.
The exhibit also includes other artifacts such as women's parkas, boots and a pair of wooden snow goggles.
In Mother's Hood, co-curated by history student Christina Williamson, coincides with the university's Canadian Circumpolar Institute's 50th anniversary.
It runs until Aug. 3, 2011 and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from noon to 4 p.m. on weekends. School groups are welcome.
