parka on the left, photos of people wearing parkas on the right

VAK’IZHEGHI

(Athabascan Raincoat) Likely mid-20th C. Loan Courtesy of the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center.

Summer-processed bear intestine. Overall thread-sewn construction with running stitch on interior. Neck and hem reinforced by decorative black yarn. Patterned red cotton cloth fabric at neck, sleeve openings, and bottom hem. Colorful wool yarn tassels at upper back. Cotton string wrist ties. Thick cotton cordage used for drawstring at hood.

Top right: Gut parka made by Mary Evanoff, Dena’ina Athabascan, of Nondalton C. 1910. Seward Community Museum and Resurrection Bay Historical Society, 1967.003.001. Photo by Chris Arend, Anchorage Museum 2010.010.001. Bottom right: Helen MacLean, PhD of Lime Village with a bear gut parka she made in 2009. Photo by Chris Arend, Anchorage Museum 2010.010.001.

Common Athabascan Materials

  • Often made of bear; beluga whale was also hunted in Cook Inlet.
  • Summer-processed, translucent intestine.
  • May have bright tufts of fur or yarn in the seams, sometimes in patterns.
  • May have cotton fabric trims.

Regional Commonalities

Athabascan gut parkas are rare. Historically, most seem to come from areas of trade and exchange with Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, Yup’ik, and Unangax^ neighbors, particularly in the vicinity of Lake Clark and Lake Illiamna.

Typical Athabascan Construction

  • Strips oriented horizontally with side seams.
  • Usually sewn with sinew, using fine stab stitch that couches loops of another thread running over the edge of the seam (double-couched stitch).
  • Hood fits as close, gathered oval shape around the face.
  • May be hoodless.
  • Sleeves have long braids or twists of sinew to be tied around the wrist.