reservation hat

The colloquial name for wool hats that started showing up in Indian Country around the time of the Civil War. The hats, in different colors, were modified by U.S. Army campaign forces by altering the brims, the crowns, and their accessories. The rez version remains relatively unadulterated, as in the brim remains flat and the crown free of "dimples," other than local variations on the hat band, which could be beaded, of tooled leather, and even strands of silver conchos.