No catalog card found in card fileAnthropology Catalogue ledger book identifies this as a model of E45970 made in the Anthropology Lab for exhibit purposes. Original is from Chilkat Tlingit from Southeast Alaska.

From card: "Carved from black slate; well executed. The Shaman wears a mask headdress a cedar rope bandolier and a ceremonial blanket."Comment from Graduate Student Research Paper, "A Report on Accession #42610 of the National Museum of Natural History", written by Athena Hsieh in April 2012, for the class "Anthropology in the Museum" taught by NMNH Curator, Dr. J. Daniel Rogers for the George Washington University. Approved for inclusion into notes by Dr. Igor Krupnik. Dr. Krupnik and NMNH has not verified the contents of the comment below, and suggests future researchers verify the remarks before citing Ms. Hsieh. The complete paper is attached to the accession record of this object in EMu. See Notes for catalog number E231009 for additional information on argillite. "This object, too, is carved from argillite, and may also have been a piece by Charles Edensaw, who became chief of the Sdeldás of the Eagle people (Wikipedia 2011), due to the eagle carved on the back of the figure's headdress. It is possible that this figure is not, in fact, a shaman. Rather, it is likely a representation of a chief: “When a chief died, they painted his face, put his head-dress on, his rattle in his hand, and his blanket around him...” (Swanton 1905, 54). Also in Swanton's publication were drawings of wood carvings representing shamans, all of which included a long, rod-shaped piercing through the nose (41) (See Appendix C- Illustrations from page 41 of Swanton's “Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida.” These show examples of wooden carvings representing shamans. Notice the nose piercing in all three carvings. There is no such piercing on the argillite carving in Accession 42610.). Swanton, John R. 1905. “Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida” in Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 8-1. New York: G. E. Stechert. Swanton, John R. 1905. Haida Texts and Myths: Skidegate Dialect. Washington: Government Printing Office. Wikipedia. 2011. “Charles Edenshaw.” Last modified November 6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Edenshaw."

FROM CARD FOR 2697-2698: "WOODEN IMAGES CARVED BY THE NATIVES OF OREGON". COLLECTED BY S. B. ELLIOT OF THE EXPEDITION. NO. 249 WAS LOST BY HARNONCOURT IN 1938."Illus. p. 310 and discussed p. 310 and p. 389 of Gilman, Carolyn. 2003. Lewis and Clark across the divide. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books. Identified there as a carving of a sailor, Chinookan, collected by S. B. Elliot when the U.S. Exploring Expedition visited the Oregon coast in 1841.Peale catalogue identifies # 249 (E2698) and # 250 (this object) as "Wooden images carved by the natives of Oregon."Human figure with hands in front pockets. He is wearing a round, patterned hat and has prominent ears. Figure is carved from a single piece of wood, with shallow manufacture marks noted overall, particularly on the legs. Red stain has been applied overall but is mainly noted present under hat rim, under hat brim, in nostrils, and in the mouth. Has original Peale # label.

This object has the remains of a glued on label on the back. It appears to have been a label from the Sheldon Jackson Insitute? See E260339 for an example of an object with an extant label of this type, the text of which says: "Sheldon Jackson Institute, An Industrial Training School for Indian Boys and Girls, Sitka, Alaska."

O NO. 89; 2 CARVED PAINTED FIGURES-WHALE AND MAN.

FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "BONE CARVING.---REPRESENTS A WOMAN WRAPPED IN BLANKET; HAS LABRET. HAIDAH INDIANS. QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, BRITISH COLUMBIA. 23,411. COLLECTED BY J. G. SWAN."

From card: "Head, arms, and lower legs of wood, carved and painted red and white, lower legs attached to body by buckskin. Hair fastened to skin on the back of the mask-like face. "carved dancing figure or skeleton of the Oolalla or wood demon. worn on the head and rigged with string to move the legs and arms, very rare and obtained with difficulty." Swan's descriptive catalogue. "... taken apart after the ceremonies are over and not refitted till another performance when they are refitted and painted." See accession records for additional data. Refer To: "Boas, F.: Social Organization and Secret Society of the Kwakiutl Indians, USNM A.R. 1895, fig. 201 (p. 651), p. 653. LaFarge, O.: Pictorial History of the Amer. Indian, 1956, Ill. p. 211. Loan: R. H. Lowie Museum 12/31/64, loan returned Feb 15, 1966. Illus.: Hndbk. N. Amer. Ind., Vol. 7, Northwest Coast, Fig. 12a, pg. 250." Identified in Handbook caption as "Ulala carved wooden dancing figure, red and white, part of a headdress that represents the canibal spirit (Caamano 1938:292)." Illustrated: USNM Annual Report for 1895, Fig. 201, p. 651, identified there as "Headdress of Olala." On p. 653 of this publication it is noted about 89038, 89039, 89072 and 89073: "In his dances the olala of all the northern tribes use headdresses which represent a corpse...."