Native American Inupiat Shaman Mask from King Island, Alaska

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Native American Masks the Pacific Northwest Coast

Inupiat Shaman mask

King Island, Alaska

2 inches, wood

Q: These masks would have been given to my grandmother, as she spent her entire life in Maine. 3 of them, each about 2 in long, were mounted on a panel with "King Island, Alaska," written on the back. Shelby, 3-20-11 132

A: The 6 little masks were probably carved by a talented Inupiat shaman from King Island, which is off the west coast of the Seward Peninsula. By 1970 all of the Inupiat had migrated to nearby Nome. Your pieces are likely to be earlier and would have been made as a gifts or for sale. I hope you'll keep them together as they are an outstanding group of ethnographic miniatures and rare.

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