(Post 6 of 6)

The evening culminated here. By now it is after 10 pm and we have pulled out all of the family’s traditional clothing. Axel’s polar bear pants and kamiit, Tuku’s first fox fur jacket, and now this.

Tuku wears a sealskin amaut made for her mother by a woman in Qaanaaq when Tuku’s brother was a baby. Intricate piecing and stitching gives the garment its shape. The hood holds a child. The pants and kamiit are West Greenlandic and were made by Tuku’s great grandmother, who was well known for her sewing. Near the end of her life, great grandma wore two pairs of glass at the same time to be able to see her needlework. Red boots are for a married woman and were made for Tuku’s mother.

How do you feel wearing this? “Proud. Especially when you know it is your great grandmother’s work.” Here, Tuku is taking a picture for her own Instagram feed, @tukummis, and I’m looking over her shoulder.
#qujanaq Olsen family. I won’t forget this evening.