Reclaiming Culture: The Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska Repatriation
FEBRUARY 9 – MAY 2, 2021
After several years of communication between the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, a tribally appointed Tlingit delegation traveled to Spokane in 2018 to review the museum’s American Indian collection.
The Tlingit delegation identified 16 items of cultural significance in the MAC collection that qualified for repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The MAC has been granted rare permission from Tlingit representatives to share many of these artifacts prior to their return to the Tlingit homeland.
Tlingit Clan Leader Hat, Cedar, abalone shell, paint. Gift of Agnes McDonald, 1919, 175.49