Headdress

This wolf headdress is carved from western red cedar, decorated with human hair, and has twine made of nettles to secure it on top of the head when in use. This type of headdress was worn during the “Wolf Ritual,” a spiritual ceremony performed by many tribes along the Pacific Northwest. In 2011, this headdress was the frontispiece for the Seattle Art Museum exhibit “The Real Story of the Quileute Wolves”, which explored the Quileute Tribe’s traditional relationship to wolves. Wolves are not currently present in Olympic National Park-they were hunted out in the early 1900s. Studies have been undertaken to determine the feasibility of restoring wolves to their native habitat, although no actions are planned at this time.