TRADITIONAL CLOTHING
(left) Woman's parka, Caribou Inuit, west side of Hudson
Bay, Northwest Territories, early twentieth century.
Canadian Museum of Civilization IV-C-628
(right) Man's parka, Copper Inuit, Coronation Gulf, Northwest Territories,
early twentieth century.
Canadian Museum of Civilization IV-D-960
Among all Canadian Inuit, a complete outfit consisted of a parka, pants, mittens and up to four layers of footwear. Clothing design varied according to gender and geographic location.
Men's caribou-skin clothing was designed to reflect their role as hunters. The parka, for example, had a close-fitting hood which didn't interfere with his vision. Broad shoulders allowed him to insert his arms inside the parka for warmth and facilitated arm movement during the hunt.
The woman's caribou-skin parka differed from the man's in certain design elements, reflecting her maternal role in Inuit society. Infants were carried for the first two to three years of their lives in the roomy back pouch. The large hood allowed air to circulate to the child and the wide shoulders permitted it to be moved to the front for breast feeding without leaving the parka's warmth and protection.
Woman’s stockings, Copper Inuit (Kilusiktormiut), Coronation Gulf,
Northwest Territories, early twentieth century.
Canadian Museum of Civilization IV-D-771 a,b
Children were dressed in modified versions of adult clothing styles.
dance clothing | contemporary clothing
