FISHSKINLAB - ADORNMENTS FROM THE SEA

ADORNMENTS FROM THE SEA

I was kindly invited by Philip Warren and Christine Stevens from The Costume Society to present my paper: 'Adornments from the Sea: Fish Skins, Bones, Vertebraes, and Otoliths used by Alaska Natives' during The Costume Society Diamond Anniversary Conference.

The Arctic, often perceived as barren, is marked by alternating seasons of extraordinary abundance. Alaska Natives relied on herding, hunting, and fishing, with fish playing a crucial role as both food and material resource. This research explores how, in addition to extracting nutrients from fish, women creatively and sustainably transformed through tanning, dyeing and sewing inedible parts of the fish - skins, bones, bladder, vertebrae and otoliths – into garments, tools and adornments.

Since resources were precious, nothing was wasted. Fish skins were tanned with an oil made from boiled fish vertebrae and sudsy soap and were skillfully transformed into parkas, boots, and containers. Fish bladders were used to create glue, while thread was made from softened and flattened fish skin. Fish bones were carved as awls for sewing. Otoliths (ear bones) and tiny beads of fish vertebrae coloured with fish blood, were used in embroidery executed during the long winter nights. This resourcefulness reflects a deep respect for nature using every part of the animal.

Prior to European contact, Alaska Natives decorated animal skin clothing with items from their riverine catch. With the arrival of the Venetian glass bead for trade around 1600, these were quickly integrated into Native adornment. However, fish vertebrae and otoliths continued to be used as amulets or decorative elements.

This study traces the history of these practices, in which garments symbolically embellished with fish waste provided Alaska Natives with a strong connection to the spirits of ancestors, animals and the sea, essential to their survival.

https://costumesociety.org.uk/conference