artpics026websizetestArtist statement

Who are we? People of the world... This earth that has many cultures from the oceans to
the heights of the mountain tops... We traverse the lands of many continents which were once one... We occupy rich hunting grounds, we are known to many people as: Native, Aboriginal, Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, Inupiaq.

 
My Ancestors occupy what we call the Arctic and have lived there for centuries... More specifically, I am from Western Alaska, the village of Tikigaq, I am Tikigaqmuit (Ungasiksikaaq, Qagmaqtuuq)...  My name is Anaqulutuq, Othniel Art Oomittuk Jr...

Identity!!! This web page reflects my interpretation of being Inupiaq, born from a land so expansive, there was no reason to leave the area, my ancestors lead a rich and wonderful life and their artwork reflected a connection between animals and human what we call "Inua"... Artifacts that have stories scratched in Ivory, stories that have lost their translation in such a short period of time...  lost to the advance of technology... so, we start again... I use this technology to Educate the world of My experience of being an Inupiaq artist, through the images of who my ancestors are, we still exist and are still creating... its time we told our story from our perspective... It may take me all my life to do...

This is a website in progress. I have now uploaded a majority of my work but I am still searching for images. I have interacted with many indigenous artists over the years whom you can find on the link page. Please check them out...