Inuit Packing Dolls exhibit shares culture

An exciting new exhibit at the University of Alberta Museums highlights the Inuit dolls created by the women of Taloyoak, a tiny hamlet in Nunavut Territory. Each doll wears an amauti, a parka common to the north where a child fits snugly in a pouch.

In Mother’s Hood: Inuit Packing Dolls of Taloyoak is an example of carrying on a culture that’s 4,000 years old, said Frannie Blondheim, associate director at the U of A Museums. The women in the area started a cooperative so they could combine their sewing skills with their livelihood.

The exhibit is a collaboration between the Friends of the U of A Museum and the Canadian Circumpolar Institute.
The Canadian Circumpolar Institute, celebrating its 50th anniversary, approached the Friends and together they collaborated on the exhibit as a salute to the women of the Canadian Arctic and the mastery of the ingenious waterproof garments.

The Friends, which is celebrating 25 years of service to the museums, established an internship to run over the course of five years which will help students pursue museum work.

Through the Friends’ internship program Christina Williamson, who had “particular interest” in the project, worked on the exhibit, said Blondheim.

Inuit girls begin sewing at 10 years of age, making dolls and removable clothes. They also learn other necessary skills such as skinning of animals. The name packing dolls refers to the parka devised with a baby pouch that is tailored as part of the mother’s clothing but is hidden under a large hood. The pouch is large enough to allow the baby to be moved into position to nurse and moss is placed in the bottom to take the place of a diaper.  The parka ensures the strong physical and emotional link between mother and child.

In their roles as entrepreneurs, the women of the north show creativity in the face of adversity and as they continue to share their stories that they have learned from their Elders, while perpetuating their history and handicrafts for the generations to come.

“We have 35 museum collections across campus and they are teaching and research tools but also for community outreach,” said Blondheim. “We have them in disciplines from art to zoology. We are here to ensure that there is a museum framework, and curators are faculty members and researchers so the collections are integral.”

The public is welcome to view the different collections, with some available during regular business hours and others requiring appointments which are happily arranged.

The packing dolls exhibit runs until August of 2011.
“We encourage everyone to come on out and enjoy the creativity and the rich meaning and history of the exhibit,” said Blondheim.