A clan hat from an Alaska Native tribe in Wrangell returned to Alaska Thursday. The Khaach.ádi or frog clan of Wrangell signed a repatriation claim in 2008 to get the hat back from a museum in California.
“The clan hat is a sacred object of the clan,” said Cindy DeWitt, a member of the Khaach.ádi clan. “It’s treasured. It represents the whole clan, not just the individual. It would be, as in the past, presented at clan ceremonies.”
DeWitt went to see the clan hat when it arrived in Juneau.
“The hat has copper above the frog eyes, and it surrounds the hat, the front legs and the back legs. The eyes have abalone and the mouth has copper, and then it shows teeth, abalone teeth,” DeWitt said.
The frog hat is at least 150 years old. A picture from 1898 shows the hat displayed at the Chief Shakes Tribal House in Wrangell.
A local shop owner took the hat in the early 1900s, and it was given to the Oakland Museum of California in 1959, according to a Tlingit Haida Central Council press release.
The Central Council is storing the frog hat in a secure area in Juneau.
DeWitt said she does not know where the hat will end up.
“I would love to see it in the Wrangell museum. Our clan, the Khaach.ádi, needs to decide where they want to store the hat,” DeWitt said. “Half the people I know would like to have it in Wrangell. So we’re working on that.”
The clan will plan a celebration in Wrangell to re-introduce the hat to the public. It will likely be in Wrangell next fall for the “welcome back” party.
