The hat was a gift in 1989 from a re-enacting member of the 41st Regiment of Foot - Regiment who fought in the war of 1812.

The Beading On Top Of Hat 

The top of the hat has a beaded medicine wheel motif with a turtle in the middle on a substrate of smoke tanned moose hide. Cranes on the side will be next, once my turn comes up again.

Dec/2017: The 41st Regiment of Foot Military Living History Group, in this picture received, at recreation of the British night assault on Fort Erie in August 1814... TOLD 'YA THEY TOOK THIS RE-ENACTING VERY SERIOUS AND SEEK AUTHENTICITY.

The hat was a gift from James Yaworsky, a law professor from when I was at law school, and went to a re-enactment of one of the 1812 battles.

Re-enactors are very serious about what they do and use the original patterns and like materials to make their living-history groups as authentic as possible to the original weaponry and uniforms. They are very serious about this all!  Very serious.  I just think it is a neat hat.

Professor Yaworsky tells me:

“The 41st Regiment of Foot Military Living History Group, was founded in 1987, has members across southern Ontario and the USA, from the Windsor/Detroit area ... -   http://www.fortyfirst.org/

The hat was what we thought back in "1980-whatever" a "forage cap" (i.e. off-duty cap, as opposed to "shako" worn when on duty) looked like...  we have since found out that what was used in the time period of the War of 1812 was more of the sort of night hat that you see Ebenezer Scrooge wearing in most films –

Your style hat was worn later in the 19th century, and evolved in to the standard police hat when a leather brim was added to the front, and the standard army hat they wear when they don't have steel helmet on 'cause somebody's shooting at them...”

Giizhig bruce barry