By Zachary R. Jones, Archivist
Title: Teeyhittaan Clan v. Alaska State Museum Collection, 1947-2010
ID: MS/028
Primary Creator: Sealaska Heritage Institute
Other Creators: Alaska State Museum, Teeyhíttaan Clan
Extent: 1.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 12/16/2010
Subjects: Native American Graves & Repatriation Act
Languages: English
This collection consists of documents, clippings, photographs, correspondence, meeting minutes, and audiovisual recordings associated with the repatriation efforts and Native American Graves & Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Review Committee hearing held in Washington DC from 17-19 November 2010 regarding the Tlingit Indian Teeyhittaan Clan’s repatriation claim for a contested item held by the Alaska State Museum. This hearing and repatriation request focused on a clan hat and at.óow of the Teeyhittaan Clan, the Yéil Aan Kaawu Naa S’aaxw (Leader of All Ravens Clan Hat), which was claimed by the Alaska State Museum since 1947 after placement as a loan at the museum by William L. Paul Sr. (1885-1977), a former Teeyhittaan Clan caretaker of the hat.
The materials in this collection document the custodial and clan history of the hat, the repatriation research, the repatriation hearing and ruling in Washington DC, and documents concerning the Alaska State Museum’s efforts to delay and prevent transfer of the hat after the November 2010 NAGPRA Review Committee hearing when the committee found that according to federal law the Alaska State Museum did not have legal right of possession.
From 17-19 November 2010 the Native American Graves & Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Review Committee held hearing in Washington DC regarding the Tlingit Indian Teeyhittaan Clan’s repatriation claim for a contested item held by the Alaska State Museum. This hearing and repatriation request focused on a clan hat and at.óow of the Teeyhittaan Clan of Wrangell, the Yéil Aan Kaawu Naa S’aaxw (Leader of All Ravens Clan Hat), which had been held by the Alaska State Museum since 1947 after placement as a loan at the museum by William L. Paul Sr. (1885-1977), a former Teeyhittaan Clan caretaker of the hat. At the conclusion of the hearing, the NAGPRA Review Committee ruled that the Alaska State Museum did not have legal right to possession.
Regarding the Yéil Aan Kaawu Naa S’aaxw, a number of years after William L. Paul’s placement of the hat with the Alaska State Museum, the Teeyhittaan Clan sought to use the hat for ceremonial purposes and requested use from the State Museum, believing the hat remained their clan’s property. However, the State Museum was reluctant to allow this to occur, asserted that the State Museum held title to the hat, and articulated that use would be along parameters outlined by the Alaska State Museum. This situation repeated itself for a number of years. In 1997 the designated Teeyhittaan Clan caretaker of the hat, Richard Rinehart Sr., continued dialog with the State Museum about custody, in attempt to have the clan hat returned to Teeyhittaan Clan ownership, but again the State Museum refused. Over the next decade the Teeyhittaan Clan and the Wrangell Cooperative Association, a federally recognized IRA tribal government, continued to request that the hat be returned to Tlingit ownership, but efforts proved futile. During this period the Teeyhittaan Clan and Wrangell Cooperative Association opened a dialog with the Sealaska Corporation/Sealaska Heritage Institute about the option of repatriation, based on laws outlined in the Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act of 1991. Requests were made by all entities to have the hat returned to Teeyhittaan Clan ownership, but again the State Museum refused to return the hat.
In 2008 the Teeyhittaan Clan, in partnership with the Sealaska Corporation and Wrangell Cooperative Association, both federally recognized tribal governments, issued a formal repatriation request based on federal laws outlined in the Native American Graves & Repatriation Act of 1991 that the Yéil Aan Kaawu Naa S’aaxw be returned to the Teeyhittaan Clan. This request was, however, again rejected by the Alaska State Museum. During the next two years the Alaska State Museum continued to refuse to turn over the hat, and as such, the NAGPRA Review Committee, a committee appointed by the Secretary of the Interior based on the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), was asked to make a ruling as to whether the Alaska State Museum had the legal right of possession of the hat. The NAGPRA Review Committee’s duty, in part, is to determine right of possession in reflection of federal law.
From 17-19 November 2010 hearings were held in Washington DC on this issue, and after review of evidence presented, based on federal law and Native American Graves & Repatriation Act of 1991, 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., the NAGPRA Review Committee determined that the Alaska State Museum did not have the legal right of procession to the Yéil Aan Kaawu Naa S’aaxw. Nearly three years after the hearing, the State Museum returned the hat to the Teeyhittaan Clan.
The Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is a regional Native non-profit organization founded for the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. SHI was established in 1981 by Sealaska Corp., a for-profit company formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). SHI, formerly Sealaska Heritage Foundation, administers Sealaska Corp.'s cultural and educational programs.
SHI was conceived by Clan Leaders, Traditional Scholars and Elders at the first Sealaska Elders Conference in 1980. During that meeting, the Elders likened Native culture to a blanket. The late George Davis (Kichnáalx—Lk’aanaaw) of Angoon, spoke these memorable words: “We don’t want what you did here to only echo in the air, how our grandfathers used to do things… Yes. You have unwrapped it for us. That is why we will open again this container of wisdom left in our care.” These wise traditional leaders told the new leaders that their hands were growing weary of holding onto the metaphorical blanket, this "container of wisdom." They said they were transferring this responsibility to the Corporation. In response to this directive, Sealaska Corporation created its non-profit arm, Sealaska Heritage Institute, to administer cultural and educational programs for the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.
During its first decade of operation, under the leadership of David Katzeek, SHI began to administer its Scholarship Program from funds set aside by Sealaska Corporation for this purpose. The second major focus at that time was the documentation of oral traditions, a project led by Tlingit scholar Dr. Nora Marks Dauenhauer and her husband, Dr. Richard Dauenhauer. Over nearly a 20-year period, these efforts led to several major publications by the Institute of the Dauenhauer’s work, including: “Because We Cherish You…” Sealaska Elders Speak to the Future, in 1981; Haa Shuká, Our Ancestors, Volume I of our Tlingit Oral Narratives (1987); Haa Tuwunáagu Yís: for Healing our Spirit. Vol. 2, Tlingit Oral Narratives. (1990); the Third Edition of Beginning Tlingit in 1991; Haa Kusteeyí, Our Culture: Tlingit Life Stories (1994); and Aan Aduspelled X’úx’, Tlingit Spelling Book in 1999. A number of these publications were co-published by the Institute and University of Washington Press. During this period, the Institute also created Naa Kahídi Theater, which won national acclaim for its dramatic presentation of Native legends.
One year after SHI was founded the Institute sponsored the first United Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Traditional Celebration, held in Juneau. Celebration '82 was so popular that our Board of Trustees decided the festival should become a biennial event. New dance groups began to form in response to Celebration, and every other year, the festival grew. Today, nearly every community in Southeast as well as Anchorage, the Seattle area, Hawaii and Canada, are represented by roughly two-thousand dancers in nearly fifty dance groups. During Celebration, workshops on various aspects of traditional culture and history also occur. Because SHI is the only major region-wide organization dedicated to cultural preservation, its Board of Trustees has mandated that Celebration be dedicated solely to honoring our traditional culture.
More recently, while continuing to honor the Institute's mission statement, “To perpetuate the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures,” the Trustees in 1997 adopted language restoration as the foremost priority of the Institute. Few funds were available initially for this objective, but the Institute launched an aggressive fund-raising campaign, and today, SHI sponsors and supports numerous language and culture programs across Southeast Alaska. The Institute also sponsors archival projects, historical research, and new publications. Since SHI’s founding, it has had four presidents; David Katzeek (1980-1991), Dennis Demmert (1992-1996), Ted Wright (1996-1998), and Rosita Worl (1998-present).
Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives
Acquisition Source: Sealaska Corporation/Sealaska Heritage Institute
Acquisition Method: The materials in this collection were generated, compiled, and recorded by the Sealaska Corporation/Sealaska Heritage Institute over the course of the disputed NAGPRA claim and during the 17-19 November 2010 NAGPRA Review Committee Hearing. These materials were transferred by Sealaska to SHI archives on 16 December 2010 and December 14, 2011. Additional materials will be added as more materials are generated. Accession #: 2010.003
