Beautiful mask from the St. Lawrence Island Yupik culture by Dora Umara Buchea. The materials are caribou skin, hair, ink, spotted seal, calf skin, beads, shells, sea otter, polar bear, wolf. Three lines on the chin represents children. Two dots represent Dora's daughter. Designs on the cheeks represents a spiders web. On St. Lawrence Island a story is told about reincarnation of souls. So a spider could be a relative checking in on you. . . #culturalheritage #culture #alaskanativeheritagecenter

Inupiaq mask from the Nunamiut people of Anaktuvuk Pass. The people of Anaktuvuk Pass invented a wooden mold for this type of artwork over 60 years ago. The caribou skin is made wet then placed over the carved wooden mold. There are still Inupiaq people carrying on this tradition today. #CulturalHeritage #CulturalExchange | Alaska Native Heritage Center