House Sem Final- Haley

For my final project I made a qaspeq, which is a traditional Alaska Native garment. I decided on making a qaspeq as my final project for a few reasons. The first is that I felt it connected to our class discussions around being a “modern native.” The reason I thought this is because the style of qaspeq I made is a much more modern version then what would have been worn historically. Traditionally women’s qaspeqs would be more dress like and have a skirt at the bottom and only men’s qaspeqs would be short like the one I created. These qaspeqs would most frequently be worn when performing in traditional dance festivals. However, recently there has been a lot of modern styles of qaspeqs being created, specifically shorter versions for women, making them much more common to wear every day. The style I made is also more modern because usually qaspeqs have hoods and full length sleeves.

Another reason I decided to make a qaspeq for the final goes along with being a modern native but more so was along the lines of the huge push for cultural revitalization in Alaska that has been happening. Recently, there has been a growing movement to re-popularize traditional actives and practices. Some of these include traditional tattooing, language knowledge, and dance. The cultural revitalization movement in Alaska reminded me a lot of our first class when we talked about the cultural revitalization movement in Hawai`i. Sometimes I feel disconnected from this movement because I am all the way in California and cannot easily participate in language learning or dance festivals. I saw this project as a small way I could participate. Not only am I keeping the knowledge of how to sew qaspeqs alive but I am also helping to normalize the use of traditional clothing in an everyday environment.