It’s not often that a major publication takes an interest in the nitty gritty of harvesting musk ox fibre but last week’s The New Yorker did just that. Read here noted author John Lee Anderson‘s compelling coming of age tale about his 1978 quest to strike it rich with qiviut in the wilds of Alaska.
I recommend it not only because it makes for a fun 20-minute read but also because it vividly conveys the uniqueness of the animal and the difficulty of procuring its prized fibre.
On a personal note, Lee also comments on the dramatic changes occurring in the rural native communities of Alaska – for good and ill – because of the impact of oil money. His examples were replicated throughout the state and to which I was witness for the two decades I lived there beginning in 1976.
It’s quite a story.
