This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=120 , retrieved 11-4-2021; see web page for additional information: Hat, Yup'ik. Each Yup'ik region has distinctive traditional designs for its clothing. This Kuskokwim River boy's cap is made from the white-spotted skins of arctic ground squirrels, with a weasel (ermine) "tail." It is ornamented with ... strands of red yarn, and red-dyed tassels of squirrel skin. South of the Yukon River, parkas were usually made without hoods. For warmth, people wore fur hats made of arctic ground squirrel, caribou, fox, mink, wolf, or otter. Yup'ik Elder Annie Blue of Togiak said: "Our ancestors used various kinds of skins for hats to keep their heads warm in the winter ... I have seen people wearing uivqurrat [circular skin caps] made out of squirrel and mink skins. The hats were decorated." Just like parkas and boots, hat styles varied considerably between villages, from circular caps to heavy hoods that were hung with tails and tassels. Zagoskin noted that the most highly decorated Kuskokwim hats were for ceremonial occasions. On Nunivak Island, men and boys wore fur hats during the Messenger Feast and Bladder Festival.
