The former curator of the Jensen Arctic Collection, which moved last year from Western Oregon University to the UO's Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is back in charge.
Roben Itchoak, who joined the UO museum from WOU's Paul H. Jensen Arctic Museum when the transfer occurred, had served as curator for seven years before funding challenges led WOU to close the Jensen museum. The collection of more than 5,000 Arctic artifacts and specimens is now housed alongside the MNCH’s extensive Alaskan collections.
“We are very fortunate to be able to bring Roben's expertise to the MNCH,” said Pamela Endzweig, anthropological collections director at the MNCH. “Given her work at the Jensen Arctic Museum and her knowledge of Arctic cultures and lifeways, she is a tremendous addition to our staff.”
Itchoak first became acquainted with the Jensen Collection as an undergraduate at WOU. While majoring in political science, she completed an internship at the Jensen Arctic Museum, acquiring hands-on experience that would shape her career for years to come.
“As an Inupiaq from Nome, Alaska, I found the Jensen Arctic Museum very impressive,” she said. “Among its holdings were artifacts that I’d only heard about in my grandpa’s stories. It was amazing to experience those stories coming to life.
“It's wonderful to have joined such a strong team of collections professionals here at the MNCH,” Itchoak said, “and to continue to work with this important and dynamic collection.”
The collection features a variety of cultural materials – from shoes to masks to baleen baskets – as well as taxidermy specimens from across the region.
“I am most intrigued by the artifacts made with baleen,” Itchoak said. “They demonstrate how one piece of material from a 50-foot whale can be used in so many different ways and for so many different purposes.”
“Highlights of the Jensen Arctic Collection,” an exhibition showcasing selected items from both the Jensen Collection and the MNCH’s Alaskan collections, is currently on view at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, 1680 E. 15th Ave.
—By Kristin Strommer, Museum of Natural and Cultural History