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This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Headdress of a raven with mirrored glass eyes. Painted black, blue, and red. Head attached to wooden head ring covered with shredded red cedar bark and repurposed blue with white stripes cotton cloth. Moveable lower jaw held together by metal pegs.

History Of Use

This headpiece most likely wouldn't have been danced. It would have been worn ceremonially by a Sisawk member to show that he belongs to that society. The goal of the Sisawk society is to make sure the people know their ancestry, where they come from, and the lineage they hold. After they are worn in ceremony, Sisawk pieces are put away in treasure boxes. Sometimes, these boxes were hidden in the house or in the sacred rooms. Sometimes they were hidden in caves that only the Stataltmc, the hereditary chiefs, knew about.

Narrative

Originally acquired between 1890 and 1910 at Bella Coola by Elizabeth and John Clayton, the owners of a store there; they passed it and other pieces to their son, Davenport Clayton, who continued to operate a store in the area and to acquire Nuxalk artworks through trade. The Campbell River and District Historical Society purchased his collection in 1959, but in choosing to focus their museum on the local Kwakwaka’wakw community heritage, offered it to MOA in 1963.

Item History

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