All images and text © Kevin Moloney


Jennie Jim, second from left, wipes a tear as she sports a bear clan hat worn by her mother at a 1904 potlatch party among the Tlingit people of Alaska. Jim stands with Emma Demmert, left, brother Frank Jack and a recently-returned bear clan totem pole during a welcoming ceremony in Angoon, Alaska. The hat was repatriated by the Logan Museum of Anthropology at Beloit College, after decades in private and museum collections.



Bear clan members of the Tlingit nation, including Frank Jack, Jennie Jim and Emma Demmert, sit beside the top of a long-missing bear clan totem, as the artifact is welcomed home to Angoon after more than 80 years.



Wearing the ceremonial hat of his dog salmon clan, Alan Zuboff dances for the totem, hiding his face so all attention is paid to the hat's salmon figure as it is brought to life by his moves.



A raven clan dancer flies through the Tlingit community as his hat dances for the returned bear totem.



Members of the Tlingit nation dance by the top of a recently-returned bear clan totem pole and pat it on the head in welcome at the end of a ceremony at Angoon, Alaska. The totem was returned to the tribe more than 80 years after it disappeared from Angoon.



Daniel Johnson, far left, Randy Gamble, left, and Don Johnson, second from right, move the top of the bear clan totem pole into Angoon High School. The totem will take up residence in the school library.


All images and text © Kevin Moloney

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