Unangan hunting headgear

closed-crown Unangan chief's hat
QayaatX̂uX̂, a closed-crown chief's hat from the Arvid Adolf Etholén Collection, National Museum of Finland, Helsinki.

Unangan hunting headgear are wooden hats associated with the Unangan or Unangas, the Indigenous peoples of what are currently known as the Aleutian Islands.

Also known as bentwood hats, and hunting hats, the headgear take the form as either closed crown conical hats, with long frontal bills; open crown hats, with long bills; or visors with short bills.[1] Closed crown conical hats were historically worn by chiefs, whalers, and high-ranking sea hunters, while open crown hats and visors were worn by regular and lower-rank sea hunters.

These hats are recognized by their distinctive shape, elaborately painted designs and artistry, as well as their ornamentation with bone carvings and sea lion whiskers. Russian and European explorers collected many Unangan wooden hats in the late 18th and 19th century. These hats are now part of many museum collections around the world.[2]

Since the 1980s, contemporary Alaska Native artists have spawned a resurgence creating this customary headgear.[3][4]

  1. ^ Ivanov, Aleut Hunting Headgear and Its Ornamentation, 269.
  2. ^ Black, Glory Remembered, 153–170.
  3. ^ Fair, Susan W. (2006). Alaska Native Art: Tradition, Innovation, Continuity. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-1889963822.
  4. ^ "Unangax - Meet the People". Smithsonian Alaska Native Collection. Retrieved October 20, 2018.