National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby ties cedar hat on Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn. Screenshot from SCIA video
Government officials often receive gifts from tribal leaders but the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs got a rather special one on Wednesday. Brian Cladoosby, the president of the National Congress of American Indians, presented Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn with a traditional cedar hat at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. The gift originated from comments Washburn made about Cladoosby's head gear at a hearing in May. "A couple months ago, Kevin and I testified about Carcieri and he told you, any questions that you have, just to point them to the guy with the basket on his head," Cladoosby said to Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), the chairman of the committee before affixing the cedar hat to Washburn's head. "So we will know to direct the questions to Kevin," Tester responded.
Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn with his new cedar hat. Screenshot from SCIA videoWashburn happily accepted the gift and presumably, all the questions. Then Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) chimed in with a suggestion. "I think you should wear it for the entire hearing," McCain said, eliciting laughter from the crowd. Cedar hats are worn by men and women from tribes across the Pacific Northwest. They are woven tightly so they can block out the sun, rain and snow. "What a brilliant presentation from Brian," a BIA official said after the hearing. The hearing lasted about 2 hours and 5 minutes. Audio can be found on the Indianz.Com SoundCloud.
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