Alaska Native Ivory Carving

The Russian American Company in Sitka Alaska represents a large number of the finest producers of traditional Arctic Alaska native ivory carvers. This unique art form has been practiced on the Bering Sea coast by the so-called Eskimo tribes for thousands of years, utilizing the white ivory tusks of the walrus, which is a main food source for the villagers. The Alaskan native cultures are the only ones allowed to subsistence hunt walrus for food; and as they have for thousands of years they utilize the whole animal, nothing goes to waste, and the ivory tusks have always been used as a carving medium to fashion art, jewelry, and practical implements. Per the Marine Mammal Act, they continue to be able to create their traditional ivory art for themselves and to legally sell to discriminating collectors.