The Crap We Wade Through... - Beyond Tiki

T tikifish Member Toronto,Canada Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 2720	T tikifish Posted posted on Wed, Mar 24, 2004 3:24 PM Actually you have 2 Ookpiks - the fuzzy owl like things beside the totem pole. Ookpik mania was big in the 60's and 70's - though not TOO big, cause a quick online search doesn't come up with much... here's an Ookpik beer mug... http://www.lswilson.ca/dewmug.jpg In any case, Ookpik is the inuit name for Owl (I think) and so probably was a hybrid of the craze for all things native and all things owl converging at the same time. Further reserach reveals that all is not fluffy and happy in the world of Ookpik - the Ookpik conspiracy dates back to 1965! OTTAWA: Jack Shafter, vice-president of Regal Toy Co., today accused the Department of Northern Affairs of "wheeling and dealing" in making private arrangements for commercial production of Ookpik, the fuzzy, saucer-eyed version of the Arctic owl. Designed by an Eskimo woman in Fort Chimo, N.W.T., and made of sealskin, Ookpik was promoted by the Government at trade fairs. When orders out-stripped Eskimo production, Northern Affairs granted rights to the Reliable Toy Co. to manufacture Ookpiks of white plush synthetic fabric to sell at about $2.98. Another version, made of imported possum pelts, sells at around $7. Ookpik has been registered with the trademark division and unauthorized copies are illegal. Lawrence Samuels, vice-president of Reliable, said: "We've been told bluntly to keep our mouths shut about this thing. Any public relations or publicity will have to come from Northern Affairs." Then of course, the Ookpik was immortalized in poem by the fabulous Dennis Lee. I remember reading this in a book I had as a kid: Ookpik - by Dennis Lee An Ookpik is nothing but hair. If you shave him, he isn't there. He's never locked in the zoo. He lives in a warm igloo. He can whistle and dance on the walls. He can dance on Niagara Falls. He has nothing at all on his mind. If you scratch him, he wags his behind. He dances from moring to night. Then he blinks. That turns out the light. That, I think, is more than anyone needs to know about the Ookpik. Except for me of course, now I have to go do some more Ookpik research!

Actually you have 2 Ookpiks - the fuzzy owl like things beside the totem pole. Ookpik mania was big in the 60's and 70's - though not TOO big, cause a quick online search doesn't come up with much... here's an Ookpik beer mug...

http://www.lswilson.ca/dewmug.jpg

In any case, Ookpik is the inuit name for Owl (I think) and so probably was a hybrid of the craze for all things native and all things owl converging at the same time. Further reserach reveals that all is not fluffy and happy in the world of Ookpik - the Ookpik conspiracy dates back to 1965!

OTTAWA: Jack Shafter, vice-president of Regal Toy Co., today accused the Department of Northern Affairs of "wheeling and dealing" in making private arrangements for commercial production of Ookpik, the fuzzy, saucer-eyed version of the Arctic owl. Designed by an Eskimo woman in Fort Chimo, N.W.T., and made of sealskin, Ookpik was promoted by the Government at trade fairs. When orders out-stripped Eskimo production, Northern Affairs granted rights to the Reliable Toy Co. to manufacture Ookpiks of white plush synthetic fabric to sell at about $2.98. Another version, made of imported possum pelts, sells at around $7. Ookpik has been registered with the trademark division and unauthorized copies are illegal. Lawrence Samuels, vice-president of Reliable, said: "We've been told bluntly to keep our mouths shut about this thing. Any public relations or publicity will have to come from Northern Affairs."

Then of course, the Ookpik was immortalized in poem by the fabulous Dennis Lee. I remember reading this in a book I had as a kid:

Ookpik - by Dennis Lee

An Ookpik is nothing but hair.
If you shave him, he isn't there.

He's never locked in the zoo.
He lives in a warm igloo.

He can whistle and dance on the walls.
He can dance on Niagara Falls.

He has nothing at all on his mind.
If you scratch him, he wags his behind.

He dances from moring to night.
Then he blinks. That turns out the light.

That, I think, is more than anyone needs to know about the Ookpik. Except for me of course, now I have to go do some more Ookpik research!

Post #82650 by tikifish on Wed, Mar 24, 2004 3:24 PM