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Sept. 27, 2005 (Radio Actuality)

OLD CHILKAT TUNIC TO BE REPATRIATED TO KLUKWAN CLAN
Sealaska Heritage Institute to Attempt Removal of Contaminants

A California museum next week will return an old Chilkat Brown Bear tunic to the Kaagwaantaan Clan in Klukwan.

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) repatriated the tunic from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology on behalf of the clan, which considers it a clan treasure and ceremonial property or at.óow.

“It’s important that it comes back to the clan,” said Joe Hotch, Klukwan Kaagwaantaan Clan Leader. “It means strength to those who receive anything that belonged to our ancestors.”

However, tests and records show the tunic is contaminated with DDT, mercury and arsenic, said SHI President Rosita Worl, noting curators years ago used pesticides and other hazardous substances to protect objects from insects, rodents and decay. SHI will work with the Burke Museum in Seattle to attempt to reduce the level of contaminants, said Worl, adding the Tlingit use their at.óow during koo.éex’, ceremonies commonly known as potlatches.

“Very often, Native American tribes don’t even want to bring back their objects that have been treated with contaminants. We on the other hand are compelled to because of the spiritual dimensions of the object,” said Worl, noting the Tlingit believe at.óow embody the spirits of their ancestors. “It’s not the spirit’s fault that it has this contaminant.”

The Phoebe Hearst Museum in Berkeley will officially transfer the tunic on Oct. 4 to SHI, which will immediately transfer it to the Kaagwaantaan Clan. The Friendship House Association of American Indians of San Francisco will host a luncheon at noon for bay area Tlingit and Haida to welcome the tunic. Then, SHI and Hotch will take it to Seattle to attempt to reduce the contaminant levels. On Oct. 6, Hotch will escort the tunic to Juneau, where other Kaagwaantaans have been invited to greet the object at Sealaska Corporation. On Oct. 7, he will take it to Klukwan and stop for a moment at each clan house to share its homecoming with ancestors.

“I want our tunic to come back and visit every house that had respect for it,” Hotch said, noting he’ll also stop in front of the church, school, clinic and village office. “Our last visit will be at the Alaska Native Sisterhood Hall in Klukwan. That is the journey of its return to the Chilkat.”

SHI Ethnologist Kathy Miller first spotted the tunic in November 2004 while photographing other cultural objects from Southeast Alaska held by the museum. In December, SHI showed the photos to the Council of Traditional Scholars, a group of Elders and clan leaders that gives guidance to the institute on its culture programs. Hotch, who serves on the panel, immediately recognized the long-lost tunic. The repatriation is thought to be one of the quickest on record partly because Hotch produced a photo taken in 1923 of the late Kaagwaantaan clan leader Kudeinahaa wearing the tunic in Klukwan. The photo and other documentation proved the tunic belonged to the Kaagwaantaan and that it was subject to repatriation under federal law. The tunic also features a Brown Bear crest owned by the Kaagwaantaan.

The clan plans to temporarily store the tunic at the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center in Haines. The temporary stay at the museum is to honor the facility’s former historian, Elisabeth Sheldon Hakkinen, who provided the photo used in the repatriation claim.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1981 to administer cultural and educational programs for Sealaska Corp. The institute is governed by an all-Native board of trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska.
 

CONTACT: Rosita Worl, SHI President, 463-4844; Joe Hotch, Kaagwaantaan Clan Leader, 766-3660
 

Radio Actuality

1. Dr. Rosita Worl, SHI president, TRT:  :18 – Very often, Native American tribes don't even want to bring back their objects that have been treated with contaminants. We on the other hand are compelled to because of the spiritual dimensions of the object. It's not the spirit's fault that is has this contaminant. (Audio)