REFERENCE CODE: AkAMH

REPOSITORY NAME:
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center
Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center
625 C Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 907-929-9235
Fax: 907-929-9233
Email: resourcecenter@anchoragemuseum.org

Guide prepared by: Sara Piasecki, Photo Archivist

TITLE: CIHS Morgan Photographs

COLLECTION NUMBER: B1962.x.022

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: circa 1948

Extent: 8 items

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Frank Morgan

Administrative/Biographical History:
The Diomede Islands consist of two rocky islands: the U.S.-held island of Little Diomede and
the Russian-held island of Big Diomede. They are located in the middle of the Bering Strait
between mainland Alaska, USA, and Siberia, Russia, with the Chukchi Sea to the north and the
Bering Sea to the south. The islands are separated by an international border and the
International Date Line which is approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from each island. The small
habitation on Little Diomede Island is centered to the west side of the island at the village of
Diomede. The native population of Big Diomede Island was relocated by the Soviet
government to mainland Russia and the island is currently home to a small Russian military
presence. Little Diomede Island has an Inupiat Eskimo population of 170, mostly in the City of
Diomede.

Scope and Content Description:
The collection includes 8 photographic prints (8 x 10”) showing Inupiat dancing and hunting.
One image is a view across the International Date Line from Little Diomede to Big Diomede.
For more information, see Detailed Description of Collection.


Arrangement: Not applicable


CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE

Restrictions on Access: The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Original items in good condition.

Technical Access: No special equipment is needed to access the materials.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:
The Anchorage Museum is the owner of the materials and makes available reproductions for
research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the
Anchorage Museum before any reproduction use. The Anchorage Museum does not
necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission
for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation:
CIHS Morgan Photographs, Anchorage Museum, B1962.x.022

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Donated to the Cook Inlet Historical Society by Frank Morgan in 1962.

SUBJECTS
Inupiat--Alaska--Social life and customs
Inupiat--Hunting--Alaska
Diomede Islands (Alaska and Russia)
Ukivok (Alaska)
Kotzebue (Alaska)

Detailed Description of the Collection

[Captions provided by donor, descriptions provided by cataloger]
1 — Eskimos dancing, Schoolhouse, 1948 [young boys in schoolroom decorated for Christmas, three dancing with large mittens and headdresses as in the Wolf Dance, drummers just visible in lower left. At AFN 2013, dancer at left identified as Oscar Akingak of King Island, and dancer at right as Alec Mayac; at AFN 2015, dancer at left identified as James Okpealuk, boy seated left wearing white shirt as possibly Moses Milligrock]
2 — Eskimo Dancing, Kotzebue [man dancing in hall, with four seated drummers and spectators sitting along walls; drummer seated second from right identified as Wilfred Lane Sr. at AFN 2013; at AFN 2014, identified as Point Hope dancers performing in Cudd Hall in Kotzebue, drummers seated left to right identified as Chester Seveck, Alvin Shagloak, Frankie Lazarus or Lane?, [unknown], woman in back row, center, identified as Lucy Jensen; at AFN 2015, drummer previously identified as Alvin Shagloak identified as Charlie Jensen, drummer at right as Sitamii Wilson, dancer as Paul Green, spectators as Nereus Harris Sr. (far left), women left to right as Blanche Lincoln, Lucy Allen, Lucy Jensen, Hensley, Marie Stalker with baby Annie Stalker]
 3 — Eskimo using bow-drill, Little Diomede [missing as of 2003]
 4 — Eskimo and walrus head (Little Diomede) [missing as of 2003]
 5 — Eskimo cutting up walrus [five men in parkas butchering walrus on ice]
6 — Eskimo seal and walrus hunt (Little Diomede) [hunters pulling boat on shore, children and dog nearby, carcasses and gear on ice]
 7 — Eskimo with umiaks at seal hunt (Little Diomede) [men pulling boat onto shore, dog nearby, open water in distance]
8 — From the shores of America’s Little Diomede Island we gaze across the advancing polar ice pack, across the International Date Line, where the snow covered cliffs of Big Diomede, Russia’s far eastern outpost represents another day, another hemisphere, and another way of life [umiaks on racks and several dogs on shore in foreground, ice floes in water between islands] Guide updated: November 10, 2015