……..Pig Gut Parka
October 16, 2013
When I was first invited to take part in this ‘experiment’, to recreate the original Native Alaskan Parka, I was more than intrigued since it would enable me to revisit the collection of Native Alaskan Parkas at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. I first encountered these examples almost 20 years at the museum and was struck by both the beauty and function of the garments.
In short, the original examples were mainly made from seal gut. The indigenous people would hunt, (sacrifice the mammal), then prepare the raw material , so that it was ready for piecing and stitching together into a simple garment pattern. This would involve different members of the tribes, in their specific roles.
So an opportunity to pay homage to these people, especially the skilled craftswomen involved in the latter stages of this process of making the garment, was a challenge I was keen to take on.
Below is a snapshot of the transformation of the gut from the drying stages to fabric construction, into the final garment.