A First Nations man left crowds shocked and delighted when he donned a 50-gallon hat at a powwow in Billings, Montana.
Witnesses say the black felt, open-crown hat was at least four feet tall and decorated with a leather band and a feather, making it almost as tall as a small tree.
“At first, I thought someone was hauling around a stovepipe or maybe a chimney,” said Herman Joseph, a longtime powwow attendee.
“Then I realized it was a person, and I went, ‘Hoh.’”
While hats have long been worn in Indigenous communities across Canada and the United States, experts say they’ve been growing increasingly taller in recent years. Some speculate this is a bid to decolonize an ever-crowded world of fashion, while others believe it’s an attempt at being closer to Creator.
However, the new trend may come with risks. Experts are warning that such towering headgear could pose health and safety hazards, with some attendees raising concerns about potential neck strain, limited visibility, and the possibility of unintended interactions with low-hanging branches.
One powwow goer was reportedly forced to take a detour around the hat after accidentally bumping into it while trying to reach a beadwork vendor.
“One day one of these damn things is gonna fall on a kid or something, then what? asked jingle dress dancer Elizabeth Maiingan.