A handmade sled, caribou skin parka and more return to Fort McPherson 50 years after they were made
CBC
Fifty years after they were lovingly crafted, worn and then brought south, a collection of items handmade in Fort McPherson have come back home.
A child's outfit made of rabbit skin with a beaded belt, a large dog sled, beaded mitts, a moose skin purse and a caribou skin parka and boots, among other items, are all back in the place they were created.
Protected by glass cases, the items are now on display at Chief Julius School as part of an exhibit called "Fifty Years Ago," presented by the Gwich'in Tribal Council.
The items belonged to John and Judy Osborne, who lived in the community and had them made in the 1970s.
It was five decades ago when the Osbornes stepped off the plane in Fort McPherson into the –54 C winter with their two children.
John had just been offered a job as a social worker in the community, so he and Judy "ran out, got married ... packed up our kids and away we came North," he said.
Students and staff at Chief Julius School welcomed the Osborne family to their school as they returned the items earlier this month.
The dog sled, made for John and his dog team by the late Chief Johnny Charlie, brought back memories for his son, William Charlie, when he saw the sled returned to his home community.
"I kind of felt sad about it ... not sad but, thinking of him," William said.
"He taught me a lot, not just about making toboggans or driving his dogs, but he taught me about hunting, trapping, fishing. He taught me how to make some bolts, dog whips, just other things from living off the land," he said.
"He taught me everything about the land."
William, who also crafts sleds after many years of watching his father, hopes to one day add a sled he made to the display.
"It would be good to put it beside my dad's sled at the school … so people can see my [work] beside my [dad's]."
Seeing the items returned to the school, which younger generations of the Charlie family attend, was special, he said.
