Amhalayt / Chief's frontlet

According to oral history, chiefs' headdresses hung with ermine pelts and embellished with carved wooden frontlets originated in the Nass River area, home to the Nisga'a. However, the tradition spread quickly across all the northern nations of the Northwest Coast. The figures are a reference to the three levels of the cosmos: the Upper world (eagle), the Middle world (human) and the Underworld (whale). The crown of sea-lion whiskers was filled with eagle down, a sign of peace, which floated over the guests as the chief danced.