AUGUST 26, 1915

ALEUT CHAGUDAX CARVER/ACTIVIST ANDREW GRONHOLDT BORN

Born in Sand Point, Alaska, Gronholdt had a background as a wooden boat builder. He also crafted wooden pumps, known as chxuusi-x, to bail water out of the skin-on-frame iqyax, the Aleut sea kayaks. While living in Sand Point among the Qagun Tayagungin, Unga, and Pauloff Harbor Tribes, Andrew designed chagudax (“hunting visor”)–a key component of the Unangan sea kayaker’s hunting and battle uniform. He then began teaching others this lost art. Gronholdt’s works are featured in collections at the Anchorage International Airport, the Unalaska City School Percent for Art, the Shumagin Corporation, and the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association. He served on the Board of Directors for the Shumagin and Aleut Corporations. In September 1989, Andrew was chosen as an instructor at the Institute of Alaska Native Art’s prestigious Bending Tradition program woodworking area known as “Aleut Corner.” Gronholdt died on March 13, 1998, in Edmonds, Washington.

Source: “Andrew Grenholdt,” World Heritage Encyclopedia.  Retrieved 7/27/2019, http://worldheritage.org/article/WHEBN0026012165/Andrew%20Gronholdt

Photo:   Sharon Dye.  Free Use.