Commerative Native American Code Talkers Medal, minted by the US mint and given to the families of code talkers. On the obverse is a kneeling soldier with the words "Tlingit Warriors Code Talkers" and on the reverse an image of a killer whale with the words "Killer Whale Clan" "World War II" and "Act of Congress 2008".This medal was the only commemorative coin minted to honor the Tlingit code talkers. It displays a hat that was repatriated to the Dakl'aweidi clan by the NMNH (the hat was formerly NMNH catalog number E230063). The hat and related replicas and images of it have become a symbol of the relationship of the clan with the Smithsonian, as well as a symbol of the clan itself. Although the clan has other killer whale hats of other forms, this form was chosen to represent them on this important medal. Historically, the medal honors the Tlingit code talkers, including Mark Jacobs Jr., and their service to the United States in WWII.

LEDGER AND CATALOG CARD SAY 1 of 3 (E203558C) SENT TO BREAUX BRIDGE, LA. 1907.

From card: "Ceremonial sheet copper mask used in mortuary ceremonies (killing of slaves.) Inset of nacred abalone shell as eyes & teeth held in position by rivit copper support strips on inside of mask. Skull cover of bear hide attached to top and sides of copper with cord and copper rivets. Design on crescentic extention at the sides near top indicate shoulders. On cheeks indicating ear thus [drawing] ... 9/12/1966 after removal of oxide in the Anthropology Conservation Lab, what appear to be fabric impressions are now visible on the mask surface. This specimen was purchased from the Nugget Shop Inc., - Curio dealers, jewelers, and opticians, Juneau, Alaska, June 1926, Comment: Robert Simpson, Mgr. ...'The mask originally came from Yakutat, I have forgotten the name of the native who brought it in, but it is a genuine article and is probably the only one in existence. It is the finest specimen of Tlingit copper craftsmanship I have ever seen. These were worn by the medicine men at their various ceremonies and particularly when they killed the slaves at the potlatches.' Loaned: Osaka Expo-70, July 1969 - Jan. 1971, and returned 12-7-1970." See BAE 46th Annual Report, p. 34, where acquisition of this artifact is discussed.Illustrated Fig. 15, p. 95, and discussed pp. 92-93 in Lenz, Mary Jane, 2004, "No Tourist Material: George Heye & His Golden Rule," American Indian Art Magazine, 29(4):86-95, 105.This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.From 2008 Anthropology Conservation Lab treatment report by Kim Cullen Cobb: Copper shaman's mask in the shape of a bear's head with fur sewn to back. The mask is fabricated from sheet copper that has been shaped into a deep concavity, likely by sinking - or hammering - the copper into a concave surface. The anatomical features of eyes, nose, mouth and brow ridges have been emphasized by repousse and chasing. Chased lines define eyebrows, eyes and nose, and chased symbols have been worked into the ears and cheeks. Abalone shell has been inserted into holes in the eye and mouth area to describe eyes and teeth. A backing of copper sheet, riveted to the back of the mask in the area of the eyes and mouth, holds the abalone elements in place. Bear hide is attached to the back of the mask; the hide is sewn with twisted sinew to the edges of the mask at the top and sides through holes drilled through the copper sheet; the hide is also riveted to the brow of the mask using copper rivets. There is a seam down the center back of the hide.

FROM CARD: "A TYPICAL BLANKET OF THE GROUP WITH THE BASIC COLOR OF DARK BROWN INTO WHICH IS WOVEN THE MYTHOLOGICAL DISSECTED ANIMAL DESIGNS IN LIGHT BLUE-GREEN, AND YELLOW AND NATURAL WHITE. WIDE BORDER OF DARK GREEN; 15" WHITE FRINGE ON BOTTOM. THIS SPECIMEN PURCHASED IN JUNEAU ALASKA BY MRS. CROSS IN 1887 OR 1897."Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=359 , retrieved 3-12-2012: Chilkat robe or blanket, Tlingit.

FROM CARD: "SHIP'S BOTTOM COPPER SHEETING WITH NATIVE RIVETING. CONSISTS OF SHEET COPPER. 1-2 CM. IN THICKNESS JOINED BY COPPER RIVETS INTO FORM TYPICAL OF N.W. COAST INDIAN 'PROPERTY' SHIELDS. OUTLINE FORM ROUGHLY OBLONG WITH FLARING EDGES EXTENDING FROM CENTRAL TRANSVERSE MIDRIB TO TOP MARGIN. BOTH TOP & BOTTOM ARE CONVEXED DIAMOND-SHAPE. A SECOND REINFORCING MIDRIB EXTENDS LONGITUDINALLY FROM CENTER TO BASE. RIBS ARE 1-2 CM. DEEP V GROOVES OPENING ON REVERSE OF SHIELD. NO SUSPENSION LOOP OR ARM HOLD DESIGNS. DESIGN ETCHING ON OBVERSE. (TAKEN FROM AN EARLY LABEL:) NATIVE COPPER SHIELDS. THESE SHIELDS WERE THE MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION OF THE ALASKA NATIVE AND THEIR PRICE RECKONED IN SLAVES. ONE LIKE THIS WAS WORTH ABOUT FIVE SLAVES. WE HAVE QUESTIONED SEVERAL AUTHORITIES ABOUT THIS SHIELD AND THEY ALL SAY THAT IT IS UNDOUBTABLY MADE OF COPPER NUGGETS HAMMERED OUT FLAT AND RIVETED TOGETHER. ITS ORIGIN THE COPPER RIVER COUNTRY. THE OWNER WAS A PRINCE OF WALES NATIVE. THE DAY AFTER HE SOLD IT TO US HE TRIED TO PERSUADE US TO TRADE BACK."See BAE 46th Annual Report, p. 35, where acquisition of this artifact is discussed. Ales Hrdlicka purchased this object (as well as E332801, discussed on p. 34) from Robert Simpson of The Nugget Shop, a curio shop in Juneau, Alaska. Purchased by Hrdlicka in 1926, presumably in June of that year as was E332801. The publication indicates that, according to Simpson, he purchased the copper in "Klawak, Prince of Wales Island."

FROM CARD: "BLANKET WOVEN IN TRADITIONAL STYLE FROM HAIR OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT, WITH TOTEMIC DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN COLOR EFFECTED BY USE OF NATIVE VEGETABLE AND MINERAL DYES, FROM THE CHILKAT INDIANS OF S.E. ALASKA. PURCHASED [in 1940 for the Smithsonian U.S. National Museum] BY MRS. WALCOTT FOR $225 FROM MRS. BELLE G. SIMPSON, NUGGET SHOP, JUNEAU, ALASKA. LOANED TO RENWICK 4/29/1982, RETURNED 6/1983. MATERIALS: MOUNTAIN-GOAT WOOL; CEDAR-BARK FIBER; BLACK, YELLOW AND BLUE-GREEN DYE." SEE CATALOGUE CARD FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.