A kuspuk () ( esu, qaspeq; ik, atikłuk) is a hooded overshirt with a large front pocket commonly worn among Alaska Natives. Kuspuks are

tunic A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...

-length, falling anywhere from below the hips to below the knees. The bottom portion of kuspuks worn by women may be gathered and akin to a skirt. Kuspuks tend to be pullover garments, though some have zippers. Though kuspuks are traditionally a

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

garment, they are now worn by both men and women of many Native groups, as well as by non-Natives. The garment was originally made of animal skin or gut and was worn over a fur

parka A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ...

to keep the parka clean. As stores became more common in Bush villages, kuspuks began to be made of calico grain sacks. Kuspuks are now generally made from brightly printed cotton

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

, or

corduroy Corduroy is a textile with a distinctively raised "cord" or wale texture. Modern corduroy is most commonly composed of tufted cords, sometimes exhibiting a channel (bare to the base fabric) between them. Both velvet and corduroy derive from fu ...

trimmed with

rickrack Rickrack is a flat piece of braided trim, shaped like a zigzag. It is used as a decorative element in clothes or curtains. Before the prevalence of sewing machines and overlockers, rickrack was used to provide a finished edge to fabric, and it ...

. Today, kuspuks are often worn as a blouse with pants. Many Alaska legislators and their staff members wear kuspuks on Fridays. The tradition was started by Representative Mary Kapsner (now Mary Sattler Peltola) of Bethel around 2000. The legislative dress code, however, requires that kuspuks be worn with dark pants. Legislators' enthusiasm for kuspuks has contributed to their rising popularity in the state. Travelers wearing kuspuks have faced scrutiny from airport security screeners the federal

Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

because of the garment's looseness and bulkiness. Screeners have asked passengers to remove their kuspuks. Senators

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after Su ...

and

Mark Begich Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously ser ...

have criticized this security practice as culturally insensitive, as the kuspuk may not always be easily removed, since it may be worn "like a T-shirt or blouse", with no other shirts underneath.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

was presented a kuspuk as a gift when he visited Alaska in 1981.

Native names

References

External links

{{Wiktionary
Essay on use of non-standard measurements in construction of kuspuks
Alaska Native culture Dresses Inuit clothing Inupiat culture Shirts Yupik culture

Native names

See also

References

External links