Hunting Hat - More Info - Where From

Awihnaq / Spruce-root hunting hat. A creature with oval eyes and a toothy mouth is painted on this spruce root hat from Kodiak Island. The hat also has glass beads, white dentalium shells (a kind of sea snail with a cone-shaped shell), sea lion whiskers, and red cloth. There is a cloth chin strap underneath. Hunters wore spruce root hats to attract sea otters and believed strongly in their power. The painted image may represent a hunter's helping spirit.