Fishing Tool Bag
26 cm long x 30 cm wide
Fish skin, bearded seal leather, caribou leather
Nevertuliq ("Newlukhtulgumut"), Alaska (Iñupiaq or Yup’ik), c. 1879
Collector: E. W. Nelson
Museum ID: NEL.C1.df.0099
This may have been a fisherman’s bag for carrying fish and fishing gear. The upper flap is made of fish skin and bearded seal leather—the dark and light elements, respectively—stitched in a decorative pattern. The pouch portion of the bag was made from softened caribou leather whose thinness suggests the leather was harvested during the spring or summer. The bag shows signs of wear and subsequent repairs meaning that it was probably used quite often.