Collaborative Study and Preservation of Coastal Alaskan Native Watercraft and Material Culture

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository in Kodiak, Alaska, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, partnered to study and preserve endangered Alaska Native material culture and traditional knowledge by focusing on skin-based kayaks and associated objects. The Alutiiq Museum identified kayaks and related gear as being potentially instrumental in fostering intergenerational community dialogue around Alutiiq language, arts, and science as building blocks of cultural revitalization. The resulting project and partnership stemmed from 2003 consultations and grew through collaborative design and implementation. Staff at both museums and consultants worked collaboratively to meet their respective and collective needs and goals. This article shares the process to achieve the study, preservation, educational exchange, and accessibility of historic Alutiiq material culture and traditional knowledge regarding collections at the Peabody Museum. Collections included four kayaks and nearly 130 kayak-related items of marine mammal skins including gutskin, wood, and flexible plant-based materials. The two museums’ and communities’ ongoing partnership is presented, along with highlighted components of university and community engagement. Workshops and class seminars with Alutiiq scholars and artists, university students, museum curators, and conservators engaged the visiting public and researchers in teaching and conservation activities.