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Inuit dolls are among the few dolls anywhere, which are neither mass produced nor culturally debased.  The variety of dolls is truly amazing.  They make use of every available material: fur, fabric, beads, teeth, etc.  Not only are the tribal differences in clothing apparent, but a compendium of shamanic beliefs and legends can also be observed.  If the dolls are a testament to the past, it is equally evident that the artists are dedicated beyond commercial consideration.  How else to explain the  tiny feet shod in exquisitely fashioned kamiks, or the embroidered mittens hanging from tasselled keepers lest they be lost?  A child will lie hidden in her mother’s amautik, a grandmother with crinkled face and real hair will smile at her husband wearing a minuscule  hat crocheted over his white fox hair.

Historically, Inuit doll making has taken two forms- a parental offering which could be quite abstract, faceless, and unclothed; or a teaching device to initiate young girls into the art of stitchery and tribal design.  As a young woman’s marriageability depended on her sewing skills, her early training stood her in good stead.  Inuit girls around the age of ten, used to make their own dolls with the help of an older sister or sister-in-law.  To an Inuit girl, these dolls were important  because by having to make them herself, she was taught all of the traditional sewing skills- skinning and animal, stretching and softening the fur, and cutting and sewing the skins into clothing.

The Inuit way of life is changing rapidly and more and more links with the traditions of the past are being broken all the time.  The ancient art of Inuit doll making is dissapearing slowly but surely.  The real Inuit play dolls have already come to an end and today, the only dolls that remain are collectors’ dolls made by Inuit doll makers for the southern retail market.

“Inuit Dolls, Reminders of a Heritage.”  by Eva Strickler and Anaoyok Alookee