Kéet S'aaxw - Killerwhale Clan Hat

Kéet S’aaxw - Killerwhale Clan Hat (red cedar, abalone, horse hair)

In 1900, a Tlingit Kéet S’aaxw was carved for Dakl’aweidi leader Gust’eiheen, my great great grandfather. His name translates to “Spray behind the Dorsal Fin.” The Clan Hat was carved by a well-known Deisheetaan artist - Yéilnaawú. The hat was illegally sold by a family member in 1904 to Smithsonian ethnologist John Swanton. The Hat remained in the Institution’s collection for 100 years.

In 2005, the clan hat was repatriated by clan leader Mark Jacobs Jr. The sacred At.óow was given back to the clan. Jacobs had fallen seriously ill, he was in a hospital in Sitka, Alaska. For the first time in more than 100 years, the clan hat was used in ceremony. Jacobs died 11 days later with the Kéet S’aaxw beside him.

Gust’eiheen (holding the Killerwhale dagger on the right)

Original Kéet S’aaxw - carved for my great great grandfather Chief Gust’eiheen

The Killerwhale Clan hat I carved honors my great great grandfather Chief Gust’eiheen, and my clan Dakl’aweidi (killerwhale). Gunalchéesh.