A killer whale hat is among the items returned by the University of Washington museum to the Naanyaa.aayí clan.
A smoking pipe with a sea monster design is one of the repatriated clan items going on display at the Nolan Center.
The Nolan Center is unveiling a new display this weekend featuring repatriated clan items that were returned to Wrangell last fall.
Objects in the display include xóots shákee.át, a bear headdress; tsax l'axhk'eit, a marmot mask; kéet shakee.át s'áaxhw, a killer whale hat (a replica); and gunakadeit s'eikdaakeit, a sea monster tobacco pipe.
The items were returned to Wrangell from the Thomas Burke Memorial Museum at the University of Washington.
Though most historical details of the objects are unknown, it is estimated that most of the items came from Wrangell in the 1930s or 1940s, said Jeanie Arnold, Nolan Center director.
Staff at the Nolan Center worked closely with the Wrangell Cooperative Association to ensure that the items are presented accurately.
Over the past few years, more than two dozen at.óow, or Tlingít clan property items, have been repatriated to Wrangell clans, but many more are still in museums across the nation.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a federal law established in the 1990s, helps facilitate the return of items to their original clans.
The at.óow or clan items do not belong to any one person, but rather are objects of significant, symbolic value that are collectively owned by the whole clan. These objects are meant to be held in trust for future generations.
But during the gold rush and population boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, increased trade and conflict between Alaska Natives and new settlers resulted in the removal of many of these objects. Under Tlingít law, all trades and transactions are fundamentally invalid.
The items are on loan to Nolan Center from the Naanyaa.aayí clan and will likely be displayed all summer.
Arnold said it took about a month and a half to plan the display, which included collaboration with WCA and ordering display materials and signs.
The Nolan Center will host an open house on Saturday, May 18, during the community market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the public to view the new displays.
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