Photos of Eskimo at Kingegan, Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, between 1901 and 1906

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Bernardi, Susan R
Title
Photos of Eskimo at Kingegan, Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska
Dates
between 1901 and 1906 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 album (105 photographic prints)
Collection Number
PH0049
Summary
Collection of photographs by Susan R. Bernardi documenting many aspects of Eskimo life at Kingegan, Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, ca. 1906.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Susan R. Bernardi went to Kingegan, Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, in October 1901 to teach at the U.S. Government School. She joined William T. and Ellen Lopp, the original missionaries who established the school in 1890. Bernardi lived in rooms off the back of the Lopps' house and taught the upper grades while Ellen Lopp taught the lower grades. It is unclear when she stopped teaching at Kingegan. Bernardi was raised in Indiana, and later held teaching positions in Alabama and other southern states.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

Cape Prince of Wales has long been inhabited by Kinugmiut Eskimo whalers. Kingegan is translated as "a high place," used in reference to the tall hill near the beach-front villages. It is the western-most inhabited location in North America, only 55 miles from Siberia across the Bering Straights and 111 miles northwest of Nome, Alaska. During Susan Bernardi's tenure there, 364 natives lived at Kingegan.

The U.S. Government School was opened with the efforts of the American Missionary Association's Harrison Robert Thornton and William T. Lopp in 1890, under the direction of Rev. Doctor Sheldon Jackson, the first General Agent for Education for Alaska. Jackson also guided the establishment of domesticated reindeer herds on Seward Peninsula, imported from Siberia as a means of assistance for Eskimos starving from game shortage. When a reindeer station was established at Wales in 1894, Lopp shared education and reindeer management duties. By 1901 ten missions/schools had herds and the total reindeer population on the peninsula was approximately 4,000. Eskimos apprenticed with Siberians and Lapps, and then were given herds. Reindeer herds grew as a form of industry and source of food and clothing for several decades. By 1908 the Alaska Reindeer Service officially operated within the Bureau of Education and W.T. Lopp had replaced Sheldon Jackson as Superintendent of Education.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection is comprised of one album of photographs taken by Susan R. Bernardi. The photographs document many aspects of Eskimo life at Kingegan, and Bernardi's handwritten notes serve as informative captions. Hunting and fishing activities, which include whaling and sealing, feature prominently in the album, as well as the caches used to store meat, boats, and other valuable objects safely. The reindeer herds imported from Siberia are also documented. Bernardi's pupils at the U.S. Government School were captured in class portraits. Portraits of Eskimo men, women, and children are also included. Bernardi is photographed inside of the classroom with pupils, as well as in the outdoors with reindeer and sleds.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Handwritten on verso of front album cover: "The most westerly point of land on the American continent, separated from Siberia by the Bering Strait, a distance of 50 miles, crossed by natives in skin boats in summer and often over the ice in winter."

Handwritten on verso of back album cover: "This book is the property of Dr. E.M. Rininger. Duplicates of these photos may be had from S.R. Bernardi. New Decatur. Alabama."

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View the collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions might exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the repository for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Bibliography

See: Kathleen Lopp Smith and Verbeek Smith, eds., Ice Window: Letters from a Bering Strait Village, 1892-1902, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, Alaska, 2001. The book presents Ellen Lopp's experiences at Kingegan and includes Susan Bernardi's time spent with the Lopps.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Container(s) Description Dates
Box item
1 1 Susan R. Bernardi teaching pupils in U.S. Government School
Handwritten on album page: U.S. Government School, C.P. of W. [Cape Prince of Wales], Mrs. S.R. Bernardi, teacher, 147 pupils.
between 1901 and 1906
1 2 Nora Oo-teen' a between 1901 and 1906
1 3 Nora and her sister Ongnoluk Oo-teen' a between 1901 and 1906
1 4a Nora and Ongnoluk Oo-teen' a between 1901 and 1906
1 4b Eskimo boy with cat and five dogs
Handwritten on album page: Teacher's pets.
between 1901 and 1906
1 5a Eskimo children on beach
Handwritten on album page: Looking pleasant
between 1901 and 1906
1 5b Five Eskimo people on beach overlooked by small white house
Handwritten on album page: The house in which the first teacher H. Thornton was killed by Eskimos in 1893.
between 1901 and 1906
1 6 Eskimo cache and house
Handwritten on album page: Eskimo cache and 'Innie' or house built of drifted beach wood. Half below the ground level. [House plan drawn below text.]
between 1901 and 1906
1 7 Cache of sled and boat frames
Handwritten on album page: All sleds and boat frames are cached to keep the wolf dogs from chewing the seal thong with which it is bound.
between 1901 and 1906
1 8 Home of Oo took tok between 1901 and 1906
1 9 Eskimo on structure built to tan and bleach seal skin
Handwritten on album page: Tanning and bleaching skin of hair seal for making kumoks on boots. The word kumok is one of many used by Eskimos from Greenland to Siberia meaning footwear.
between 1901 and 1906
1 10 Drying racks used to dry seal meat between 1901 and 1906
1 11 House partially covered by snow between 1901 and 1906
1 12 Scene of drying racks and cache
Handwritten on album page: Looking over frozen Bering Sea.
between 1901 and 1906
1 13 Cache with Eskimo in background
Handwritten on album page: Bones of polar bear on cache poles to keep away evil spirits.
between 1901 and 1906
1 14 Eskimo man pulling a seal carcass with other Eskimo men in background
Handwritten on album page: Oogs-rook or big seal - required 3 men and 5 dogs to drag him in. This animal is rather scarce. Its tough hide is used all along the coast of Alaska by natives for soles of all kind of footwear.
between 1901 and 1906
1 15 Cache built to hold a walrus skin boat
Handwritten on album page: Ok-ba-ok's Oo' me ak or walrus skin boat cached on the beach for winter.
between 1901 and 1906
1 16 Eskimo with snow shoes
Handwritten on album page: Going out to shoot seal, that come to the surface to blow through holes in winter ice. On his back he carries his snow shoes, gun, walking stick, claws of a seal which he uses to imitate the scratching of a seal to decoy others.
between 1901 and 1906
1 17 Eskimo man with hair seal carcass
Handwritten on album page: A hair seal plentiful all the year in Bering Straits. As many as 75 are caught in 1 day. The small boys and men's hunting trousers are made of the skin with hair on. Without the hair waterproof boots and suits are made.
between 1901 and 1906
1 18 Two Eskimo men and five dogs posing next to cache of boat
Handwritten on album page: Boat decorated with whaling harpoons etc.
between 1901 and 1906
1 19 Tunneled entrance to room with a pole in the middle
Handwritten on album page: Snow tunneled entrance to kozga or club house of the tribe of Kingetmeets named for the mountain at Cape Prince of Wales which natives call Kingegan, a high place.
between 1901 and 1906
1 20 Two Eskimo boys dancing with three boys watching
Handwritten on album page: Boy's dance.
between 1901 and 1906
1 21 Two Eskimo men dancing with other men in background holding drums
Handwritten on album page: Dancing in kozga.
between 1901 and 1906
1 22 Beach scene with houses and structures built inland from coast
Handwritten on album page: Eskimo village of underground houses. Only 2 families live here, the missionary and school teacher with 364 natives. Siberia is 50 miles west and Nome 125 miles east.
between 1901 and 1906
1 23 Whaling ship caught in ice
Handwritten on album page: Steam whaler Alexander. One of the vessels imprisoned in the ice at Herschel Island far to the east of Point Barrow.
between 1905 and 1906
1 24 Eskimo men dancing around whaling boat
Handwritten on album page: Dancing around boat. Charm of wolf head skull suspended over the boat. Only during the month of May do the bowhead whale pass through Bering Straits. This month is inaugurated with many ancient superstitions, customs.
between 1901 and 1906
1 25a Group of Eskimo people standing and packing up a whaling boat
Handwritten on album page: The woman has sprinkled ashes, made from shavings of new paddles, along the path to keep devils from hoodooing the hunting.
between 1901 and 1906
1 25b Eskimo people paddling in whale boat
Handwritten on album page: A mile of ice fast to shore proves good camping ground and during the 24 hour days one or more boats patrol the Straits looking for whale.
between 1901 and 1906
1 26 Large group of Eskimo people in a line pulling a whale carcass onto shore
Handwritten on album page: All hands pulling a whale as far as possible on to the ice pack.
between 1901 and 1906
1 27 Whaling boat tools and oars arranged on shore
Handwritten on album page: After harpooning a whale all implements are taken from boat & no one touches them till whale is cut up.
between 1901 and 1906
1 28 Eskimo men cutting up whale carcass
Handwritten on album page: Four men put on waterproof 1 piece suits, get into a hole, cut in the whale's stomach and then proceed to carve throwing the meat on to ice where the woman haul it on dog sleds to the village.
between 1901 and 1906
1 29 Eskimo man posing while standing within a whale carcass
Handwritten on album page: An Eskimo Jonah.
between 1901 and 1906
1 30 Whale carcass with Eskimo men working around it
Handwritten on album page: A pup whale 30 ft long.
between 1901 and 1906
1 31 Whale bones on ground with group of Eskimo people in background
Handwritten on album page: This bone, bow shaped is the upper jaw bone in which grows the slabs of whalebone. This whale bone is of commercial value. It is used by the whale to strain the water in which he finds his food - A tiny jelly fish no larger than a finger nail.
between 1901 and 1906
1 32 Whale carcass floating in water with Eskimo person nearby in a boat
Handwritten on album page: Commercial whale bone. Native is cutting out the tongue. The whale is buoyed in the water by seal skins filled with air.
between 1901 and 1906
1 33 Whale bone on land
Handwritten on album page: Whale bone inside mouth. Whales breathe between these bow shaped bones through the top of their heads. This is called spouting - steam from their breath and not water.
between 1901 and 1906
1 34 Eskimo man sitting and smiling with buckets hanging behind him
Handwritten on album page: Wearing a labret in his chin, and his best gloves on he is receiving his neighbors giving each a piece of whale liver buried a year ago in his ice cold cellar underground.
between 1901 and 1906
1 35 Group of Eskimo men and children outside
Handwritten on album page: Telling whale stories.
between 1901 and 1906
1 36 Eskimo woman taking walrus blubber from hide
Handwritten on album page: During the month of June only, the walrus in herds of thousands pass northward through Bering Straits. Natives kill as many as 300 during this month.
between 1901 and 1906
1 37 Two Eskimo people and four dogs with sled
Handwritten on album page: Hauling walrus meat home. Skins are used for boat covers.
between 1901 and 1906
1 38 Group of Eskimo people standing beneath large cache
Handwritten on album page: Every cache in the village in June is used to stretch walrus skins on.
between 1901 and 1906
1 39 Dead walrus and Eskimo next to stretching and drying racks
Handwritten on album page: Seal skin filled with walrus oil. Entrails drying to make rain coats of.
between 1901 and 1906
1 40 Siberian summer house made of walrus skins between 1901 and 1906
1 41 Eskimo boy with bow and arrow
Handwritten on album page: Shooting ptarmigan.
between 1901 and 1906
1 42 Salmon hung on drying racks between 1901 and 1906
1 43 Tomcod fish hung on drying racks between 1901 and 1906
1 44 Reindeer herder with wife and child between 1901 and 1906
1 45 Herd of reindeer walking
Handwritten on album page: A herd of domesticated reindeer numbering more than 2000 at Cape Prince of Wales.
between 1901 and 1906
1 46 Eskimo men lassoing a wild deer between 1901 and 1906
1 47 Reindeer
Handwritten on album page: Old Gillamook - (Hurry Up).
between 1901 and 1906
1 48 Susan R. Bernardi with four reindeer
Handwritten on album page: Four in hand.
between 1901 and 1906
1 49 Susan R. Bernardi standing behind sleds and reindeer
Handwritten on album page: Getting ready to go shopping to Nome - 125 miles over the ice.
between 1901 and 1906
1 50 Reindeer trainers named Keok and Iyotungok sitting on sled with three reindeer between 1901 and 1906
1 51 Reindeer wearing a Lapland harness between 1901 and 1906
1 52 Reindeer fawn sleeping on the ground
Handwritten on album page: The Rockabye lady from Hushabye Street came stealing came creeping.
between 1901 and 1906
1 53 Two adult reindeer with three reindeer fawns
Handwritten on album page: Young fawn in April.
between 1901 and 1906
1 54 Group of reindeer adults and fawns
Handwritten on album page: Watch us grow.
between 1901 and 1906
1 55 Reindeer fawns lying on moss with adult reindeer in background
Handwritten on album page: 3 weeks later - We can almost eat moss. Papa lost his horns before we came but mamma dropped hers 6 weeks later.
between 1901 and 1906
1 56 Reindeer fawn with herd in background
Handwritten on album page: Where's my ma?
between 1901 and 1906
1 57 Reindeer fawns drinking milk from reindeer adults
Handwritten on album page: Feeding the babies.
between 1901 and 1906
1 58 Reindeer with small horns
Handwritten on album page: Horns in velvet, May.
between 1901 and 1906
1 59 Reindeer with medium horns
Handwritten on album page: Horns in September.
between 1901 and 1906
1 60 Reindeer with large horns
Handwritten on album page: Good freighter.
between 1901 and 1906
1 61 Eskimo girl named Ob-le-uk between 1901 and 1906
1 62 Eskimo man (named Immi ung' nuk) with baby on back ice fishing for tomcod fish between 1901 and 1906
1 63 Eskimo woman, a celebrated basket maker named Enu quén uh', with baby on back between 1901 and 1906
1 64 Mother Grundy dressed in furs between 1901 and 1906
1 65 Eskimo child dressed in furs between 1901 and 1906
1 66 Eskimo girl carrying her younger brother on back between 1901 and 1906
1 67 Norwadluk with hair down
Handwritten on album page: All of woman of this tribe with few exceptions have beautiful well kept hair, very long and glossy black.
between 1901 and 1906
1 68 Norwadluk with hair in braids between 1901 and 1906
1 69 Nora between 1901 and 1906
1 70 Norwadluk and Nora between 1901 and 1906
1 71 Eskimo woman with baby on back
Handwritten on album page: Elãn e mook' - Eskimo for good bye. Literal translation - I am sorry that you go.
between 1901 and 1906
1 72 Eskimo person cooking outdoors in summer between 1901 and 1906
1 73 Three Eskimo girls ice-fishing
Handwritten on album page: Girls build protections of snow around their fishing holes in the ice in winter to protect their eyes from wind.
between 1901 and 1906
1 74 Three Eskimo girls play-acting
Handwritten on album page: 3 girls playing at being dressed up with white people's clothing sent to mission.
between 1901 and 1906
1 75 Norwadluk and her baby sitting indoors between 1901 and 1906
1 76 Group of Kobuk Eskimo people between 1901 and 1906
1 77 Person kneeling on ground
Handwritten on album page: Married by the missionary this shy bride of 14 runs away from her husband in the dark and slept here all night.
between 1901 and 1906
1 78 Reindeer herder with wife and first child between 1901 and 1906
1 79 Eskimo men with child who is holding a mask inside building
Handwritten on album page: Trading curios.
between 1901 and 1906
1 80 Village with large hill behind
Handwritten on album page: This bold head line is the most westerly point of land on the American continent made famous by Eugene Sue in The Wandering Jew.
between 1901 and 1906
1 81 Cape Mountains
Handwritten on album page: Cape Mountains where tunneling has been done for 3 years for tin quartz. Tin City is at the foot on Bering Sea.
between 1901 and 1906
1 82 Eskimo boys standing in pits on rocky terrain
Handwritten on album page: For several miles Cape Prince of Wales is keeper of prehistoric secrets. Underground chambers, pits made of huge granite boulders hewn and placed in pits - 12 feet apart with [continued on next page] remarkable engineering feats. Old pottery thousands of years old, jade, petrified ivory and 2 skeletons have been found. Most of these relics are possessed by the Museum of Ethnology, Penn. University.
between 1901 and 1906
1 83 Eskimo boys in a pit 8 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 3 ft. deep between 1901 and 1906
1 84 Three Eskimo boys standing in pit
Handwritten on album page: In every pit the stone facing the sea is a single large stone.
between 1901 and 1906
1 85 Prehistoric granite pit between 1901 and 1906
1 86 Group of Eskimo school children leaving school
Handwritten on album page: Ready for a run-Mrs. B.
between 1901 and 1906
1 87a Bernardi in Eskimo clothing with reindeer between 1901 and 1906
1 87b Susan R. Bernardi teaching geography with globe to two Eskimo boys named To quont' nuk and Menadéluk between 1901 and 1906
1 88 Eskimo children in schoolroom in front of net and black board
Handwritten on album page: Between lessons nets hung convenient to keep hands busy.
between 1901 and 1906
1 89 Eskimo schoolchild making a shirt with a sewing machine between 1901 and 1906
1 90 Eskimo schoolboys sitting at desks learning vertical writing between 1901 and 1906
1 91 Group of Eskimo adults and children between 1901 and 1906
1 92 Eskimo children watching a boy named Kituk dance outside between 1901 and 1906
1 93 Eskimo people sliding down a building's roof on seal skins between 1901 and 1906
1 94 Four Eskimo boys between 1901 and 1906
1 95 Five Eskimo girls
Handwritten in album page: In the good old summer time.
between 1901 and 1906
1 96 Class portrait with Kuzrina, Natongok, Anouruk, and Keotkona in front row between 1901 and 1906
1 97 Class portrait with Keotkona, Weyana, Tooktook, and Nukahana in front row between 1901 and 1906
1 98 Group of Eskimo men and boys in store-bought clothes between 1901 and 1906
1 99 Sunday School students posing in group outside between 1901 and 1906
1 100a Skull from ancient pits resting on ground between 1901 and 1906
1 100b Eskimo children standing on rocky terrain
Handwritten on album page: White fox trap.
between 1901 and 1906

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Eskimo children--Alaska--Photographs
  • Eskimos--Alaska--Photographs
  • Eskimos--Boats--Alaska--Photographs
  • Eskimos--Education--Alaska--Photographs
  • Eskimos--Hunting--Alaska--Photographs
  • Eskimos--Social life and customs--Photographs
  • Reindeer--Alaska--Photographs
  • School children--Alaska--Photographs
  • Whaling--Alaska--Photographs

Personal Names

  • Bernardi, Susan R

Geographical Names

  • Prince of Wales, Cape (Alaska)--Photographs

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)