2019
Alaskan Yellow cedar, ermine skins, deer skin and sinew, operculum and abalone shell, and spruce resin, and museum sourced cow hide, sea lion whiskers, swan down, acrylic paints, steel screws and brass plates.
Description: A conical hat with a tall column on top. The base of the hat has a fish face carved on the front over a half-moon cut out. The rim has red and black graphic painted designs. The protruding column has two dark and two light alternating bands.
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Tradition Meets Technology
This replica of a Tlingit clan crest hat is the result of a recent collaboration between the Smithsonian and the Kiks.ádi clan of Sitka, Alaska. The original hat, in the Smithsonian’s collection, was broken and too fragile to use in ceremonies. To restore it to the clan, the Smithsonian followed traditional cultural protocols while using cutting-edge technology. Smithsonian staff scanned the hat to create a virtual 3D model, which they repaired digitally. They then used computer-guided machines to carve two replicas.
This replica is retained by the Smithsonian for educational purposes. The other was dedicated as at.óow (a sacred object) by the clan in Alaska and is once again used in ceremonies.
Credit: Smithsonian Institution, Department of Anthropology, E437460-0
Project Collaborators: Kiks.ádi clan Ray Wilson Sr., Kaagwaantaan clan Andrew Gamble, National Museum of Natural History Repatriation Office, Smithsonian Digitization Program Office, Smithsonian Exhibits, and Smithsonian Women’s Committee.