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Clarence Irrigoo Inuit Eskimo Carved Polar Bear

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 750.00 USD
Clarence Irrigoo Inuit Eskimo Carved Polar Bear
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[?]Live Online Auction Starts In 2025 Nov 08 @ 09:00 (UTC-07:00 : PDT/MST)
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Polar Bear with Seal Head in Mouth. 4 5/8" by 2 3/4" by 2 1/8". Pegs holding carving to stand need replacement. Carved Walrus Ivory. Native made prior to 1972. This item cannot be shipped to Oregon, California, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, Internationally, or any other state that prohibits. Provenance: Heard Museum, Arizona; Private Collection, New York. The Rev. Clarence Minglu Irrigoo Sr., affectionately known as "Big Appa," died Dec. 16, 2010, at Norton Sound Regional Hospital in Nome. His family wrote that he "went home to be with the Lord." Clarence Irrigoo Sr. was born March 14, 1914, to Samuel and Flora Irrigoo in Gambell. He married Mildred Napaqaq Walunga Irrigoo on June 1, 1935, and they had nine children. Clarence Irrigoo Sr. completed the eighth grade in Gambell, back in the years when that was the highest grade you could attain. He self-acquired his high school training using books that he ordered from Sears Roebuck & Co. Clarence also attended vocational training in SBA at the William E. Beltz Voc Ed center in Nome from October 1965 to May 1966. Clarence self-trained and taught amateur radio; he also copied world news press coming out of KNX Los Angeles at 60 wpm with a typewriter. In Gambell, Clarence Irrigoo Sr. served as a marriage commissioner, U.S. notary public and Selective Service registrar. Clarence served in the Alaska Territorial Guard, the Army National Guard, and was a member of the Ground Observer Corps, U.S. Air Force, during World War II. He was honorably discharged from all branches of service. Clarence Irrigoo Sr. was a commissioned lay preacher and Sunday school superintendent for the Presbyterian Church from 1940 to 1965. He was a member of the Nome Presbyterian Church from 1965 until his recent passing. Clarence Irrigoo Sr. was a respected elder, orator and Alaska Native leader.