Douglas man to share journey building traditional Inupiaq qayaq

Douglas resident Lou Logan will present on his spanning April 2024 to October 2025 journey building a traditional Inupiaq qayaq at the Alaska State Museum on Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m. in the APK Lecture Hall.

The free presentation will detail Logan's experience constructing the skin-on-frame watercraft from April 2024 to October 2025, a project that required hundreds of hours of work in the museum's public galleries.

Logan's interest in traditional qayyat began more than a decade ago. In 2014, he worked as a photographer documenting objects from the museum's collection before the building opened in its current location. The kayaks he photographed sparked his curiosity about traditional construction methods.

"There are fewer resources for Inupiaq qayyat compared to some other types," Logan said in an earlier interview with the Juneau Empire. "The techniques learned over generations were passed down in oral tradition. This knowledge was almost entirely lost due to cultural loss and assimilation. The qayaq itself is now the teacher."

For Logan, studying qayyat became a way to connect with his Inupiaq heritage. His grandmother was from Kiŋigin, also known as Wales, one of the oldest communities in the Bering Strait region.

The project grew from Logan's research into historical literature and his realization that Inupiaq qayaq construction lacks complete documentation. He learned by studying existing qayyat and through his own building efforts.

During construction, Logan worked next to a qayaq frame collected from King Island in 1928. The process included setbacks that required adaptation, creative problem-solving, and at times starting over.

In his presentation, Logan will explain what defines a qayaq and provide a brief history and typology of the watercraft. He will share personal insights into why and how to build a qayaq and describe the construction process in detail.

The presentation begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16, in the APK Lecture Hall at the Alaska State Museum, located at 395 Whittier Street in Juneau. Admission is free. The event is hosted by Alaska State Libraries, Archives, and Museums.

The museum is open to the public and hosts both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. For museum hours and rates, visit museums.alaska.gov or call 907-465-2901.

People with disabilities who need accommodation for the event can contact the division's ADA coordinator at 907-465-2912. The museum requests that accommodation requests be made one week in advance.

For more information, contact Amy Phillips-Chan, director of the Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums, at [email protected] or 907-465-8718.