Featured in this lot is this potlatch hat from Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Don Lelooska, who was born in 1933 and died in 1996. The potlatch hat features a wonderfully and professionally crafted cedar construction and shows a polychrome painted decoration with teal, red, and black paint. The figure on top of the hat features an orca with a human in its' mouth and includes sections of abolone inlaid into the fins, eyes, and mouth of the orca. The potlatch hat features the artist 's signature on the underside of the hat. Lelooska was given his name at age 12 when he was adopted by the Nez Perce. It means “He Who Cuts Against Wood with a Knife” and has become a treasured family name symbolic of their work. Lelooska and his family were formally adopted into the House of Sewide of the Mamaleleqala and Qwiqwasutnox bands of the Kwakwaka’wakw by Chief James Aul Sewide. With this adoption, the hereditary rights, crests and privileges of the Sewide lineage were bestowed on Lelooska and his family. Lelooska spoke Chinook Jargon, the trade language of the coast, and was a student of the Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl) language. He was also conversant in half a dozen Indian dialects. His study of languages gave him insight into the traditional mind and enabled him to communicate freely with the Old People. The condition of this potlatch hat is good with a minor repair to the front fin and shows a chip to the backside of the underside of the visor of the hat, but it otherwise shows good overall condition. The measurements of this potlatch hat are 14 1/2" x 19" x 13 1/2".*