This woven hat is a masterwork by one of the most accomplished and celebrated weavers of this generation, Isabel Rorick, showcasing both her artistry and her deep cultural knowledge. Her skill in transitioning the intricate pattern of the hat to the stacked rings requires a technical expertise undertaken only by the most skilled weavers. The rings signify the number of potlatches hosted by a specific chief. A chief of high status might host three or four major potlatches in their lifetime, with the years in between spent navigating political currents, overseeing trade and allegiances with near and distant villages, and commissioning great art works: carved masks, woven robes, and hats worthy of the highest nobility. Equally important was stockpiling food for these events, which sometimes carried on for months. The potlatch rings were prominently featured on the hats of carved watchmen on totem poles. These poles faced the sea and acted as guardians, declaring a village’s ceremonial history and artistic excellence to all who approached by canoe. Woven hats were a testimony of inherited rights and status, worn by nobility during ceremonies at home and while attending events hosted in other villages.

Spruce root is both fine and durable. It is a material that requires time and patience to gather, clean, and soften for weaving. The weaving itself is arduous and unforgiving, with intense attention paid to the finest of details. The ancient patterns are the timeless slug trail, spider web, and fishbone, and Rorick has been faithful to these patterns.

Isabel Rorick, the great-granddaughter of Charles and Isabella Edenshaw, began weaving spruce root baskets under the direction of her grandmother, Selena Peratrovich, her mother, Primrose Adams, her aunt, Delores Churchill, and her cousins, April and Holly Churchill – all elite master weavers. She started weaving hats in 1982. Rorick’s works have been included in most of the exhibitions and publications dedicated to excellence in Northwest Coast art over the past three decades, and several are included in museum collections including the British Museum, the Canadian Museum of History, The Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Seattle Art Museum.

Gary Wyatt

References: In Gary Wyatt’s book Mythic Beings: Spirit Art of the Northwest Coast (D&M, 1999), the artist recounts two charming stories. The first tale tells of how Spider and Slug created the beautiful weaves and patterns found in Haida hats; the second story explains how baskets came to be (p. 66). Three of Rorick’s stunning hats (including a potlatch hat strikingly similar to this one) are illustrated on the facing page in that book. For an interview with Rorick (and more examples of her work, including a five-skil chief’s hat) see Vancouver Art Gallery, Raven Travelling: Two Centuries of Haida Art, (D&M, 2006), pp. 126-139.