Thank you to everyone for your patience while the Bead Flowers site was closed. I’m now back in the UK after 3 weeks in Alaska, so it’s time to share some stories of my adventures. Having recently written here about Trade Beads, I now seem to keep coming across them! Aside from the stunning, unspoilt scenery and a lot of wildlife that is still relatively unafraid of humans, the fact that this state was only settled by ‘outsiders’ in quite recent years, means that the Native influence is still very apparent. Part of that legacy is beautiful beadwork.
Alaska was only ‘discovered’ in 1741, by Russian explorer Vitus Bering. In 1776, Captain James Cook set sail on his third voyage, hoping to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. His route ended up taking him up the coast of Alaska, through the Inside Passage (now the cruise ship route!). In 1778 he sailed up the inlet (named Cook Inlet) to the point where present-day Anchorage is sited, but had to retrace his steps after discovering that this was not in fact the Northwest passage, so the waters just outside Anchorage gained their name of ‘Turnagain Arm’. Cook sailed a little further north, but was forced to turn back when the ice became too severe for him to pass. The first Russians settled in Alaska in 1784, on Kodiak Island in the Aleutian Islands. At this time, the Russians primarily used the state as a fur trading post. The Trade beads made their way to this part of the world as well. I saw a strand of trade beads purporting to date back to around this time – they would have been given to the Natives in exchange for animal furs. In fact, the Sea Otter was almost hunted to extinction because of its beautiful fur, which is thicker and warmer than any other mammal. These cute mammals spend their lives living in the freezing cold sea, hence the warmth of their fur. Happily, hunting was banned and the Sea Otter population recovered and is currently doing well.
In 1867 the USA purchased Alaska from Russia for just 2 cents an acre. At the time, this was thought to be a huge mistake on the part of the politician who negotiated the deal and was referred to as ‘Sewards’s Folly’. However, a few years later, the discovery of gold was made, starting a huge gold rush that saw the first serious settlement further into Alaska’s interior – by 1888, more than 60,000 people had arrived in search of gold. Alaska finally became a US state in 1959, but it was not until 1968 that the vast northern oil fields of Prudhoe Bay were discovered. It seems to me that the experience of settlement in the ‘lower 48’ states helped to save much of Alaska’s native heritage. In 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was passed, giving Natives significant amounts of land, capital and establishing a number of Native Corporations. This is not to say that the Natives of Alaska have always received ‘fair’ treatment at the hands of settlers, or indeed enjoy equality today, but from the perspective of a tourist, I think the Native influence makes Alaska a far more interesting place to visit than many other US States. Native tradition is apparent everywhere from the Native stories to the beautiful artwork, including Totem Poles, woven baskets, carved animal horns, clothing made from animal furs and skins and of course, beadwork.
The photo shows a selection of Native beadwork and the string of Trade beads, from a shop in Anchorage. Although a lot of Native artwork is documented, I was unable to find anything written about the beadwork traditions in the area. From my own observation, a lot of the jewellery is made using Peyote stitch or netting, but some of the clothing, especially skin moccasins are also embellished with beads and this looked to me more like bead embroidery. The long, dark winter months afford time for indoor pursuits, like beadwork and the tourist season is relatively short as the snows typically melt in around May: spring, summer and Autumn are all squeezed into a few months before the first snows which can fall as early as September. A lot of the beaders seem to spend the winter making stock that can then be sold during the tourist season.
Typically, Alaskan summers are not so different from a British summer, this year they have been enjoying a very warm, sunny few months, which was excellent news for me as I got to see the beautiful mountains (the accessible part of the State is covered with various mountain ranges) and glaciers in their full glory. Even on a cloudy or wet day (there are usually a fair few of those!), although the mountains may not be fully visible, the wildlife is usually out and about. I have seen bears, moose, Caribou (wild Reindeer), beavers, porcupine, even a wolf all by the side of the road. There are very few roads in the State and mostly very little traffic, although this is increasing. When I first visited Alaska in 1999, it was not a typical tourist destination! Most people (including me!) imagined it as a snowy wasteland, full of Polar beads. In fact, the Polar bears only live in the far north, a relatively inaccessible area, so I have never seen any, and the snowy wasteland is really acres of green fir forests, mountains, lakes, rivers and glaciers. Alaska is now becoming a popular cruise destination and more people are venturing beyond the cruise routes to see more of the beautiful interior areas. For now, it still remains one of the few places where it is possible to really escape modern life and feel something of our wild, natural history, but I can’t help wondering how that will have changed in another fifty years.
