Bird Bola
Summary:
Created by Johnny Moonin for the Chugachmiut Heritage Department, this miniature bird bola is modeled off a traditional tool to hunt and ensnare birds in the Chugach region. Cultural Narrative:
Bird bolas were traditionally used in many Indigenous cultures to catch birds by throwing it and having it wrap around the bird.
"It took him [Johnny Moonin] a while to do this [create the bird bola]. Artifacts he found from the lagoon. Of course the museum had a box of these artifacts that everybody had donated or Johnny. He used to walk around a lot in the lagoon and he'd find a lot of these artifacts and put them in the museum." - Rhoda Moonin, Nanwalek, 2022 (spouse of Johnny Moonin)
*All of these quotes came from an Open Archive workshop held on February 4th, 2022. Participants willingly shared their knowledge for the purpose of cultural documentation.