New York
Northeast / Cayua

Feathers, cloth, metal
ca. Mid-Late 20th century
Cap Diameter: 7.5 in; Height: 9.25 in; Extended Tail: 17 in
Other – Regalia – Hat

Tag inside reads: Mohawk Gustowe / Made by Howa Boyudan / “Stands Up In Front’ / Nation: Cayuga /  Clan: Turtle

A rare, handcrafted, fitted headpiece decorated with turkey feathers, hand cut and stamped metal band, German silver brooches, and two of the traditional eagle feather holders on top.  It is considered a piece of the men’s identity, as the location and number of the eagle feathers on the headdress indicates which nation he is from.  This one, with the two eagle feather holders on top, is from the Cayuga.  It is an Eastern Woodlands Gustoweh (“Real Hat”) that is an essential headdress for Eastern Woodlands Indian Regalia.

The Cayuga are one of the five original constituents of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois, a confederacy of Native Americans that resides in the state of New York. The Cayuga land lays between that of the Seneca Nation to the west and the Onondaga Nation to the east. The Cayuga Nation is made up of five clans. These clans signify family lineage and a Cayuga citizen’s clan is determined by the clan of their mother.  The five clans include the Bear, Heron, Snipe, Turtle and Wolf.  Today, Cayuga people belong to the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Ontario, and the federally recognized Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.