How Indigenous Groups Are Using 3-D Technology to Preserve Ancient Practices

A small cedar hat is being scanned by a team of experts. It was made more than 140 years ago from a piece of wood and depicts a bear. In a few hours, the experts will have a videoconference with members of the Haida Nation in British Columbia to go over the progress they have made on their collaborative goal of creating a digital three-dimensional model of this clan crest hat.

The project is part of a series of partnerships between the NMNH and Indigenous groups. Eric Hollinger, tribal liaison at NMNH, says that groups are increasingly using 3-D technology to document and even duplicate their cultural objects. Hollinger says that the return of eligible original objects and Indigenous human remains from museums is legal. The goal of this work is to help safeguard the legacy of fragile items by creating digital models for preservation and education as well as physical replicas that can be used in ceremonies when originals cannot.

In 2007, NMNH was asked to 3-D print copies of a 17th-century pewter tobacco pipe that the museum was about to return. Three replicas of the original pipe were requested by tribal officials to educate people about the pipe's history and its reburial. The 3-D print of the pipe replicas was done by Hollinger. Although NMNH had been using 3-D technology to reproduce other objects, Hollinger realized that tribal authorities would be open to replicating culturally sensitive objects.

The staff at the museum support center in Maryland spent a lot of time capturing and processing information to create a 3-D model of the hat. The image was taken from every possible angle using a technique called photogrammetry. The pictures were fed into software that matched tens of thousands of pictures to find common points. The points were used by the software to create a map of the hat's surface.

High-resolution detail and color can be captured using photogrammetry. The team used a laser line scanner to create parts of the model that were shiny. The files will be kept for safekeeping once the 3-D model is finished. Guujaaw says the study of this piece provides valuable insights into the innovation and thought process of our ancestors. It's the magic of technology that the Haida can do this without having to travel a lot.

The Haida only worked with NMNH on a digital model of the hat, but other groups have also ordered physical reproductions, such as that of the pewter pipe. The NMNH crew has created physical copies of rattles, musical instruments, ceremonial staffs and spear throwers with a variety of materials.

A sculpin fish on NMNH's shelves was recognized as a severely damaged clan crest hat by a cultural specialist from the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. The sculpin hat was at the museum for over a hundred years. The ceremony could not use it because it was broken. NMNH was asked to re-create the item so it could be used for ceremonial purposes. Hollinger coordinated multiple departments to recreate the intricately hand-carved piece in accordance with Tlingit tradition.

When a clan crest object is made, the work should be done by members of the other clan. A delegation from the opposite clan traveled to Washington, D.C. to start the scanning and photogrammetry of the sculpin hat. The files were programmed into a machine that looked like a band saw and a lathe. A single piece of wood from Alaska was carved away through a series of small milling bits. The new sculpin hat was slowly emerging. The operator of the machine needed to be a member of the appropriate clan in order to be adopted by the group. Ray Wilson, Sr., a Tlingit elder and leader of the Kiks.di, said that they found a way to work together. I think that the hat wanted to come back home.

The replica was taken to Alaska. The replica sculpin hat was dedicated in an emotional ceremony at a conference of several Alaska Native nations. Edwell John, Jr., clan leader of the Tlingit Dakl'aweid, was involved in a separate replication project with the museum. He says that a replica doesn't usually represent spirits. The circumstance of the hat was unique because it was intended to replace the original one. It was the first time a Native American item replicated using digital technology was turned into a sacred object.

The Tlingit allowed the group to request the return of the damaged hat. The National Museum of the American Indian Act of 1989 governs the repatriation of Native American items. The law mandated the return of eligible Indigenous American objects. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was enacted the year after it was passed.

"These projects have been some of the most rewarding that I've ever worked on." I was able to 3-D Scan Barack Obama and the Apollo 11 command module.

Creating a 3-D model of a spaceship for digital publication is not the same as creating a cultural sensitive object. With most emerging technologies, moral and ethical questions are raised. Millions of Indigenous people's artifacts and human remains are held in museums. Hollinger and John are part of a working group that is funded by the National Science Foundation. Hollinger says that tribal officials have initiated all of NMNH's 3-D replication projects and that the museum is able to honor restrictions that Indigenous groups have on the final products. John asked NMNH to create a replica of the Tlingit killer whale clan hat and the Smithsonian to make a 3-D model of it. John asked that the files be protected because they don't want anyone taking the plans and making their own clan hat and selling it on the market.

Hollinger says that the possibility of future partnerships is encouraging. Several 3-D models of items have been created for the website of the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center. The center doesn't work with Hollinger's team, but its director says she sees a lot of potential for documenting works in other museums Artists and elders would benefit from a digital 3-D catalog of those items.

Some tribes are using 3-D tech for more than one application. The Caddo Nation, which is based in Oklahoma but has an ancestral range that spans East Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, has scanned its own pottery samples so they can be used in future archaeological discoveries. A group of Alaska Native organizations formed the Naaxein Teaching Partnership to teach high school students how to use 3-D technology. The Hudson Museum at the University of Maine is working with students and researchers to recreate a Tlingit clan crest hat before it is returned from the collection.

Hollinger says that NMNH's past hesitance to suggest the replication of cultural items has made him stop making assumptions about what Indigenous communities are and are not open to.

Wilson, the Tlingit elder, says that even though there were a number of setbacks in the seven year effort to complete the sculpin hat project, he liked that it was two entities working together to accomplish something that was good for both. If you work together, you can get things done.