| What makes it historical? |
The Musk Ox Farm is part of a two-horned approach to making the north a better place! The first part is to help restore the musk ox, or Oomingmak, to Alaska, after it was hunted to extinction there in the 1850s. The second is to give native villagers on the coasts a natural way to earn an income. Here’s how it all started:
In 1964, after a decade of researching, anthropologist John Teal captured 33 calves from a herd on Nunivak Island and began breeding them in Fairbanks! He didn’t breed them for meat or milk, but for their soft underwool called qiviut, which is much warmer than wool and softer than cashmere! Now, the qiviut is harvested once a year and given to native artisans to create beautiful garments for sale! |
