Search | Smithsonian Ocean

Search

Showing results for

Decorated ceremonial regalia reflect the importance of ocean fish to Native communities.

Photo

Ocean Symbols in Ceremonial Art

January 2010

Elders bless a new canoe with lighted sage, song, and traditional dances.

Photo

Blessing a New Canoe

January 2010

As these models show, traditional canoes came in a variety of shapes and designs.

Photo

Varieties of Canoes

January 2010

Members of the Squamish Nation paddle to a 1997 festival celebrating Native canoe arts.

Photo

Celebrating Traditional Canoes

January 2010

Douglas Chilton uses traditional carving tools to shape the Raven Spirit canoe.

Photo

Carving the Canoe

January 2010

Close-up of a 17th century painting shows how whales were brought ashore for processing and their blubber rendered into marketable oil.

Photo

Basque Whalers

January 2010

In the 19th century, many women wore tight corsets that were stiffened with stays made from baleen.

Photo

Whale Products in Fashion

August 2015

North Atlantic right whales were long hunted for their baleen—the fringed plates hanging in their mouths that they use to strain the seawater for food. Baleen was used in a number of consumer products, such as corsets.

Photo

Whale Baleen from a Dead Whale

September 2013

Yankee Whalers: An 1856 Currier & Ives print shows whalers harpooning a right whale.

Photo

The “Right” Whale to Hunt

January 2010

This ivory sculpture from Point Barrow, Alaska, represents Kikámigo, a guardian spirit, holding a whale in each hand.

Photo

Inupiat Guardian Spirit

January 2010

This mask sits atop a decorative breastplate with images of whaling crews in skin boats called umiaks.

Photo

Inupiat Ceremonial Mask

January 2010

With the sun in its beak, the canoe’s raven figurehead points the way.

Photo

Canoe Figurehead

January 2010