Museum Report: Inuit Doll from Baffin Island ARCH 258 TINA GREENFIELD OLIVIA DESWIAGE SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 The artifact chosen for this report is a handmade doll from early twentieth century Southern Baffin Island, Canada. This artifact, labeled “Female Doll”, is a cultural example of a kind of dolls known as “Inuit Dolls”. Young Inuit girls learn to make these dolls and practice tactile learning of skills such as pattern making and cutting, sewing, beadwork (Strickler & Alookee, 1988). “Female Doll” is part of The Robert J. Flaherty Collection, gifted by Sir William Mackenzie to the Royal Ontario Museum. It is currently on view in the Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples. The doll was collected by Flaherty during his travels through the Arctic around 1914 CE. This doll specifically, comes from Southern Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada and was made by the Nunatsiarmiut. The artifact itself has dimensions of 38 x 20 x 9 centimetres. The doll is made from fur covered caribou skin and depilated skin. It is clothed with miniature versions of the garments made and worn by actual Inuit peoples during the early 20th century. These garments include a fur parka and pants, and a pair of boots and mittens made from hide. “Female Doll” also includes a basket and a small hand tool made of depilated skin: tools that were part of common chores and duties for Inuit women. (Female Doll, n.d.). Inuit doll making has been a part of Inuit culture for centuries, however they have become a somewhat forgotten practice. Traditionally, they had been used by mothers, older sisters and sisters-in-law as a teaching tool for young girls. They were used to practice clothing making skills on a smaller scale to prepare the girls for the duties expected of them as they grew older (Strickler & Alookee, 1988). Inuit dolls can vary wildly from region to region; the mediums used range from bone to wood to soapstone and the clothing articles are even more so varied from fabric to design. The techniques used to make these dolls also varies from simple to complex, some decorated with intrinsic beadwork and others unclothed with few details besides basic anatomy. (Strickler & Alookee, 1988). Although the practice of doll making has moved to become more about the preservation of a culture through fine art, it remained to be a relevant tool in child development for centuries (Park, 1998). Roleplaying and “miniature material culture” are apart of how Inuit children learn to interact with one another and their world (Park, 1998). Upon studying of the dolls, one can discern the wealth of the family. A girl with many materials to choose from may have multiple dolls representing the entire family versus a girl of a lower socioeconomic standing who may only have one doll to represent herself (Strickler & Alookee, 1988). These dolls can tell us, relatively, how resources were distributed among group members. However, they do not provide a holistic representation of socio-economic dynamics within Inuit culture. The artifact, “Female Doll”, although not directly linked to the Ancient Near East, can stand as one example of the practices that a culture uses to teach the next generation and what happens when those practices become obsolete. References Park, R. W. (1998). Size counts: the miniature archaeology of childhood in Inuit societies. Antiquity, 72(276), pp. 269-281. Strickler, E. & Alookee, A. (1988). Inuit Dolls Reminders of a Heritage. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Stage & Arts Publications Ltd. Female Doll. (n.d). Retrieved September 24, 2018, from Royal Ontario Museum website: https://collections.rom.on.ca/objects/241252/female-doll?ctx=ad71c8af-7966-47b0-846a37ab03c16cf3&idx=2 Royal Ontario Museum. (Photographer). (Accessed 2018, September 24). Female Doll [digital image]. Retrieved from https://collections.rom.on.ca/objects/241252/femaledoll?ctx=ad71c8af-7966-47b0-846a-37ab03c16cf3&idx=2
