Teslin is a small Tlingit village of about 400 people. We drove straight to the cultural center before camping. The center is a lovely structure situated on the banks of Teslin Lake, a very large lake extending from the Yukon into British Columbia. The Yukon mountains thus far aren't as majestic as those further south, however, still quite beautiful. The terrain next to the highway is quite marshy and home to moose, although we haven't seen any.
The Cultural center was quite impressive showing off beautiful art works, paintings as well as native masks, clothing and wood carvings. A Tlingit lady, Margaret, demonstrated how she tans moose hide. I could not believe the long, tedious process she goes through. Now I appreciate why moccasins cost so much. She begins with a hide that looks and feels like a huge rawhide, very stiff and hard, and ends up with a white, very soft and supple hide. That's not all! Then the hide is smoked with a special rotten wood to give it a beautiful tawny color. I didn't include the part where she boils down moose brains, fat and bacon fat to make a tanning soap. Looks just like bars of soap. This she rubs and works into that rawhide to make it supple, takes days! I was very impressed.
I love the stylized art work the northern natives create. Naturally, I had to buy a small painting. We spent quite some time looking around. Then we went outside to admire and photograph the canoes down by the water. These were works of art in their own right.
We spent the night in a Yukon Government Campground for $12. Can't beat that and beautiful, private sites, too. Tomorrow we will be in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon and situated on the banks of the Yukon River.
No comments:
Post a Comment