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ANISALAGA (Mary Ebbets Hunt)

Born
Tongass, Alaska, 1823
Died
Prince Rupert, B.C, 1919
Biography synopsis
Anisalaga (Mary Ebbets Hunt) also known as Ansaq, Anis'laga, A'naeesla'ga, was a Tlingit noblewoman and a highly celebrated Chilkat weaver of the Pacific Northwest. The original Chilkat blankets were made from mountain goat wool and cedar with natural dyes that made brilliant, long-lasting pigmented hues. Anisalaga worked in bold yellow, turquoise, black and white, including an abstract design in the corners. Many of these blankets were seized during the bans on potlatch ceremonies and sold to museums and private collectors around the world. According to tradition, Anisalaga's father arranged her marriage to English Hudson's Bay Company trader, Robert Hunt in 1843 to secure connections with the Company. Along with her husband she ran the store at Fort Rupert, British Columbia. After her husband died, Anisalaga continued to run the Fort Rupert store by herself. She also produced the most complex and beautiful Chilkat blankets and aprons, assisted in bringing peace to the region, and managed a successful business. She assisted in taking the northern style of “Chilkat” (naaxein weaving) south to the Kwkuitl people. Her works are held at the Royal British Columbia Museum Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, B.C.
Media used
Textiles
Weaving
File & Archive locations
Royal British Columbia Museum
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
"Rare Aboriginal Blanket comes Home to Island." Times Colonist 9 Apr. 2014
"Rare Artifact repatriated to B.C. after Paris Auction." The Globe and Mail 10 Apr 2014: A10
Hopper, Tristin. "Vancouver Island First Nation recovers Historic Blanket that turned up at Paris Auction 100 Years after it disappeared." National Post 10 April 2014
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/vancouver-first-nation-recovers-historic-blanket-that-turned-up-at-paris-auction-100-years-after-it-disappeared
Jones, Zachary. Haa léelk'w hás ji.eetí, our Grandparents' Art: a Study of Master Tlingit Artists, 1750-1989. (PhD) Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2018
http://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/10299
Smetzer, Megan. Painful Beauty: Tlingit Women, Beadwork and the Art of Resilience. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 2021

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