| Summary: | From the Artist: "My name is David Oksoktaruk an Inupiaq Eskimo from Nome Alaska. I learned how to carve from my cousins. I was also taught how to carve in shop class in high school. My dad taught me how to hunt. I was taught, by my parents, how important it is to give my first catch weather [whether] it be duck, geese, seal, or moose, [caribou], to the eldest person in the village. Doing that shows me to respect my parents and elders. Today I am an Artist and work on call to demonstrate my crafts at the Anchorage Heritage Center." "Spirit of the Wind" The mask is made from cottonwood bark. The white dots represent the stars. The mask represents the moon. And the mouth is the Spirit of the Wind. The inner hoop represents the Earth and the outer hoop represents the Heavens. The five feathers on the inner hoop represent, from left to right, the Ocean, the Land, our Creator, the Food we get from the ocean and land, and Respect for family and elders. The outer hoop has feathers and they represent ducks and geese. The right hand is the catching hand. The hunter catches salmon, geese, seal, and beluga. The hole in the left hand represents cycle of life. The figurines around the mask are made from baleen. The beluga is made from alabaster. The kayak on top of the mask is made from cottonwood bark. The hunter, seal and [buoy] are made from soapstone. The paddle is made from baleen." Artist Contact Information: David Oksoktaruk, PO Box 140904, Anchorage, AK 99514 (907) 272-3440. This is one of two pieces by David Oksoktaruk given to the Campus Library by Norman and Louise Rose. The second piece is entitled "Loon and Hunter."
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