Oscar Gill House

When faced with the extreme, Alaska calls into play skills and resources that 'outsiders' never have to exercise. Wisdom born of experience. Perhaps that is why Alaska has produced more innovative stuff per capita than any state in the Union. From the Aleut carved hunting hats, delicately constructed from sea lion whiskers and sea otter fur, to the slideholders made from polar bear claws, to the smoke hole plugs from mastodon bone, the real art of Alaska came from a hard sense of grace that dances with the fine line between life and death.