These masks have been carved by hand from the bark of the black cottonwood tree, which occurs in the lowlands of Alaska's south-central and southern coastal forests.  The bark comes from trees that have been dead for five to six years.  It is then possible to remove the bark which can measure up to six inches thick.  The masks are trimmed with real fur, either reindeer, beaver, fox, or Icelandic sheepskin. The artist is a card-carrying Cherokee who moved to Alaska to work on the pipeline and stayed. 

The measurements below reflect the main size of the mask.  The fur makes the masks bigger than shown.