Alaska Reps. Scott Kawasaki, Geran Tarr, Cathy Tilton Dave Talerico gather before a floor session. More Alaskan lawmakers are wearing traditionally Alaska Native garments called kuspuks.

JUNEAU, Alaska — Every Friday during the Alaska legislative session, a growing group of state lawmakers trades suit coats and sweater sets for a loose-fitting traditional Alaska Native garment commonly called a kuspuk (KUH'-spuhk).

The kuspuk cuts vary almost as much as the trim chosen by the seamstress. Some have long sleeves, or are three-quarters length. Some are hooded, and others are long and worn as dresses rather than over pants. All are part of a cultural tradition spanning generations among Alaska Native groups, who combined make up nearly 20 percent of the state's population.

Now, state lawmakers — Alaska Native or not — are incorporating their own traditions into the pattern-making process and wearing the garments every Friday, marking a seemingly small but significant cultural change at the Capitol, in a state where federal regulations once banned Alaska Native students from speaking their language in schools.

“Visually, I think it's a real nod to First Alaskans and their resourcefulness and practicality,” said former legislator Mary Sattler, who grew in a remote town in far west Alaska.

For her and other Yup'ik Eskimos, the kuspuk is often part of a daily wardrobe. A five-term lawmaker in the House first elected in 1999, Sattler is credited with starting the Legislature's kuspuk tradition, but says she didn't do so singlehandedly.

Inupiat legislator Eileen MacLean occasionally wore her kuspuk during floor sessions before Sattler, she said.

MacLean, a Democrat from Barrow, was a teacher and advocate for Alaska Native rights. After she died in 1996, her daughter gifted Sattler with one of her kuspuks.

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