Mask with seal or sea otter spirit

The Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada are part of the Arctic, or North Pacific Rim, culture area. The resources of this rich maritime environment have played a significant role in the region's cultures. Birds, fish, shellfish, and many sea mammals - sea otters, whales, seals, sea lions, and walrus - provide food, and from the sea mammals come other products such as oil, skins, and ivory. The Yup'ik peoples who live on Alaska's western coast and adjacent islands see their relationship with animals as collaborative and reciprocal. Animals as well as humans have an immortal soul or spirit ("inua" or "yua"), and both participate in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The hunter who shows respect for his prey finds that the animal gives himself in return.

For the Yup’ik peoples of western Alaska, animals as well as humans have immortal souls or spirits, and both participate in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The Yup’ik see their relationships with animals as collaborative and reciprocal, and in seasonal festivals they honor the spirits of animals hunted during the previous year. Held in the men’s house ("qasgig"), the social and ceremonial center of the village, these events often included masked dances. Masks with encircling hoops manifest shamanic visions of the spirit world, with the ringed center connoting movement between the human and supernatural worlds. At the center of the Dallas mask is a beaver with a fish in its mouth. The smiling face on the animal’s back represents its soul. The circular holes in the two white hands may symbolize a passageway between worlds, through which the spirits of animals return to earth to replenish the supply of game.