GRETCHEN SAGAN Bracelets made <strong>of</strong> fossilized ivory the incredulity <strong>of</strong> this sinks in to an outsider, Susan affirms that the fossilized ivory is millions <strong>of</strong> years old. “<strong>The</strong>y find it while digging in their gardens, or it washes up on the beach,” she says. Bearing blue veins, fossilized ivory (see photo above) gets darker with age and makes exquisite carvings at the hand <strong>of</strong> native residents. <strong>The</strong>y also carve the ivory <strong>of</strong> musk ox, a descendant <strong>of</strong> the wooly mammoth. “Musk ox…are hunted for their fur which is s<strong>of</strong>ter and warmer than cashmere,” Susan states. “When we were flying to Shishmaref, we were looking for polar bears and saw a whole musk ox herd. <strong>The</strong>y were just wandering around—about 15 to 20 <strong>of</strong> them. Our pilot told us that they travel in groups and if they feel threatened, they back into a big circle with the young in the middle and their big horns facing out. That way, their predators think that they are huge, scary beasts—that’s why they have survived since prehistoric days. So, as we flew over them, Terry took a turn over the herd and they did exactly that. <strong>The</strong>y backed right into each other and stared us down!” Showing the Artwork A marketing coup for the foundation is an <strong>of</strong>fer from the Alaska State Council on the Arts to exhibit their collection <strong>of</strong> Eskimo dolls created by Native artists. “<strong>The</strong>se beautiful dolls which depict indigenous life will travel the New England Coast this summer,” Susan says, and will be exhibited at nautical and whaling museums such as Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport, the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum in New Bedford, Mass., and Nantucket’s Whaling Museum. Historically, New England, Hawaii, and Alaska have had a connection due to the whaling industry. New England ships, for instance, ended up in Alaska so this former linkage makes sense for future exhibits. Susan is also happy to report that Native art from the foundation will be shown at the fall 2004 opening <strong>of</strong> the new Washington, D.C., location <strong>of</strong> the National Museum <strong>of</strong> the American Indian. Susan says the Alaska Native Arts Northern Exposure Foundation will soon have available for sale through retailers a wide range <strong>of</strong> artwork such as jewelry, dolls, carvings (in ivory, soapstone, alabaster, fossilized whale bone), hairpieces, wearable art such as gloves, mittens, hats, parkas, and some prints and paintings. To see some <strong>of</strong> the items, visit its website: www.alaskanativearts.org. Successful inroads to retailers include a showcase <strong>of</strong> Native art works at Neiman Marcus in their Tyson’s Corner, Va., location this September. <strong>The</strong> Neiman Marcus exhibit, Susan notes, “is serendipitous and it’s huge.” Also, Gorsuch Ltd. will showcase Native arts from the foundation in both their Vail, Colo., store and 2003–04 catalog. <strong>The</strong> Native artisans create very highquality carving and beadwork but have very few places in which to sell it. As a result, the foundation will help them sell their works <strong>of</strong> art by finding new avenues where it can be marketed. Some <strong>of</strong> the younger Natives have not been interested in continuing the tradition <strong>of</strong> artwork because they don’t feel that they can make a living with it. “<strong>The</strong> cultural heritage up there is spectacular,” Susan notes, highlighting the need for a Native arts education program so that the skills <strong>of</strong> elders can be transmitted to the next generation. An arts education program is in the planning stages with the Univ. <strong>of</strong> Alaska in Fairbanks—“spirit camps” for Native boys and girls (similar to Girl and Boy Scout camps) that will focus on doing hands-on Native arts, helping keep the traditions alive. “I’m an educator at heart,” Susan notes. “It’s in my blood. It’s not just about selling [Native works <strong>of</strong> art] but about educating the lower 48 about the people and culture <strong>of</strong> Alaska’s Native population.” She is after all, still teaching, only now it is about the richness <strong>of</strong> a Native people and their culture here in the U.S. Susan Heard is helping prove that there is so much more to Alaska than a cruise along its waterways. 38 <strong>Taft</strong> Bulletin Summer 2003
Alumni Weekend began with a well-attended memorial service and an evening <strong>of</strong> class reunion dinners scattered throughout the area. Saturday’s forum with Headmaster Send in the clowns. Don’t Rain Our Parade on <strong>The</strong> high-spirited Class <strong>of</strong> ’53 marches up the hill. PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER FINGER
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