Tlingit
Traditional Alaska Native religion |
Lingít "People of the Tides" | |
---|---|
People | Tlingit |
Language | Lingít |
Country | Tlingit Aaní |
The Tlingit or Lingít (English:
The Tlingit have a
Territory
The greatest territory historically occupied by the Tlingit extended from the Portland Canal along the present border between Alaska and British Columbia, north to the coast just southeast of the Copper River delta in Alaska.[12] The Tlingit occupied almost all of the Alexander Archipelago, except the southernmost end of Prince of Wales Island and its surroundings, where the Kaigani Haida moved just before the first encounters with European explorers.
The Coastal Tlingit tribes controlled one of the mountain passes into the Yukon interior; they were divided into three tribes: the Chilkat Tlingit (Jilḵáat Ḵwáan) along the Chilkat River and on Chilkat Peninsula, the Chilkoot Tlingit (Jilḵoot Ḵwáan) and the Taku Tlingit (Tʼaaḵu Ḵwáan:) along the Taku River.
Inland, the Tlingit occupied areas along the major rivers that pierce the
Delineating the modern territory of the Tlingit is complicated because they are spread across the border between the United States and Canada, they lack designated reservations, other complex legal and political concerns make the situation confusing, and there is a relatively high level of mobility among the population. They also overlap in territory with various
The territory occupied by the modern Tlingit people in Alaska is not restricted to particular reservations, unlike most tribes in the lower contiguous 48 states. This is the result of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which established regional corporations throughout Alaska with complex portfolios of land ownership rather than bounded reservations administered by Tribal Governments. The corporation in the Tlingit region is Sealaska Corporation, which serves the Tlingit as well as the Haida and Tsimshian in Alaska.[14]
Tlingit people as a whole participate in the commercial economy of Alaska. As a consequence, they live in typically American nuclear family households with private ownership of housing and land. Many also possess land allotments from Sealaska or from earlier distributions predating ANCSA. Despite the legal and political complexities, the territory historically occupied by the Tlingit can be reasonably designated as their modern homeland. Tlingit people today consider the land from around
The extant Tlingit territory can be roughly divided into four major sections, paralleling ecological, linguistic, and cultural divisions:
- The Southern Tlingit occupy the region south of Western Red cedarforest.
- Northern Tlingit live north of Frederick Sound to Cape Spencer, and including Western Hemlockforests.
- The Inland Tlingit live along large interior lakes and the drainage of the Taku River as well as in the southern Yukon, and subsist in a manner similar to their Athabascan neighbors in the mixed spruce taiga.
- The Gulf Coast Tlingit live along a narrow strip of coastline backed by steep mountains and extensive glaciers, north of Cape Spencer, and along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska to Controller Bay and Kayak Island. Their territory can be battered by Pacific storms.
The trade and cultural interactions between each of these Tlingit groups and their disparate neighbors, the differences in food harvest practices, and dialectal differences in language contribute to these identifications. These academic classifications are supported by similar self-identification among the Tlingit.
Tribes or ḵwáans
Tlingit tribe | IPA | Translation | Village or Community location | Anglicized, archaic variants or adaptations |
---|---|---|---|---|
G̱alyáx̱ Ḵwáan | qaɬjáχ qʰʷáːn | Salmon Stream Tribe | Yakataga-Controller Bay area | Kaliakh |
Xunaa Ḵáawu | χʊnaː kʰáːwʊ | Tribe or People from the Direction of the North Wind | Hoonah | Hoonah people |
S'awdáan Ḵwáan | sʼawdáːn qʰʷáːn | From S'oow ('jade') daa ('around'), aan ('land/country/village') because the bay is the color of jade all around | Sedum | Sumdum |
Tʼaḵjik.aan Ḵwáan: | tʼaqtʃikʔaːn qʰʷáːn | Coast Town Tribe | northern Prince of Wales Island | Tuxekan |
Laax̱aayík Kwáan: | ɬaːχaːjík qʰʷáːn | Inside the Glacier People | Yakutat area
|
Yakutat |
Tʼaaḵu Ḵwáan: | tʼaːqʰu qʰʷáːn | Geese Flood Upriver Tribe | Taku | Taku Tlingit, Taku people |
Xutsnoowú (a.k.a. Xudzidaa) Ḵwáan | xutsnuːwú qʰʷáːn | Brown Bear Fort a.k.a. Burnt Wood Tribe | Angoon | Hootchenoo people, Hoochenoo, Kootznahoo |
Hinyaa Ḵwáan | hinjaː qʰʷáːn | Tribe From Across The Water | Klawock | Henya, Hanega |
G̱unaax̱oo Ḵwáan | qunaːχuː qʰʷáːn | Among The Athabascans Tribe | Dry Bay | Gunahoo people, Dry Bay people |
Deisleen Ḵwáan: | tesɬiːn qʰʷáːn | Big Sinew Tribe | Teslin | Teslin Tlingit, Teslin people, Inland Tlinkit |
Shee Tʼiká (a.k.a. Sheetʼká) Ḵwáan | ʃiːtʼkʰá qʰʷáːn | Outside Edge of a Branch Tribe | Sitka | Sitka, Shee Atika |
Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan | ʃtaxʼhíːn qʰʷáːn | Bitter Water Tribe | Wrangell | Stikine people, Stikine Tlingit |
Séet Ká Ḵwáan | séːtʰ kʰʌ́ qʰʷáːn | People of the Fast Moving Water | Petersburg | Séet Ká Ḵwáan |
Jilḵáat Ḵwáan | tʃiɬqʰáːt qʰʷáːn | From Chaal ('food cache') xhaat ('salmon') khwaan ('dwellers'): Salmon Cache Tribe | Klukwan | Chilkat people |
Áa Tlein Ḵwáan | ʔáː tɬʰeːn qʰʷáːn | Big Lake Tribe | Atlin | Taku River Tlingit , Inland Tlinkit
|
Ḵéex̱ʼ Kwáan | qʰíːχʼ qʰʷáːn | Dawn Tribe | Kake | Kake people |
Taantʼa Ḵwáan | tʰaːntʼa qʰʷáːn | Sea Lion Tribe | Fort Tongass (formerly) & Ketchikan (today) | Tongass people |
Jilḵoot Ḵwáan | tʃiɬqʰuːt qʰʷáːn | Chilkoot Tribe | Haines | Chilkoot people |
Áakʼw Ḵwáan | ʔáːkʷʼ qʰʷáːn | Small Lake Tribe | Auke Bay
|
Auke people
|
Kooyu Ḵwáan | kʰuːju qʰʷáːn | Stomach Tribe | Kuiu Island | Kuiu people |
Saanyaa Ḵwáan | saːnjaː qʰʷáːn | Southward Tribe | Cape Fox Village (formerly) & Saxman (today) | Saanya Kwaan, owns Saxman Corporation, which owns Cape Fox Corporation |
Culture
The Tlingit culture is multifaceted and complex, a characteristic of Northwest Pacific Coast people with access to easily exploited rich resources. In Tlingit culture a heavy emphasis is placed upon family and kinship, and on a rich oratory tradition. Wealth and economic power are important indicators of rank, but so is generosity and proper behavior, all signs of "good breeding" and ties to aristocracy. Art and spirituality are incorporated in nearly all areas of Tlingit culture, with even everyday objects such as spoons and storage boxes decorated and imbued with spiritual power and historical beliefs of the Tlingits.
Tlingit society is divided into two
Like other Northwest Coast native peoples, the Tlingit did practice hereditary slavery.[16]
Philosophy and religion
Tlingit thought and belief, although never formally codified, was historically a fairly well organized philosophical and religious system whose basic axioms shaped the way Tlingit people viewed and interacted with the world around them. Tlingits were traditionally
Between 1886 and 1895, in the face of their shamans' inability to treat Old World diseases including
Today, some young Tlingits look back towards their traditional tribal religions and worldview for inspiration, security, and a sense of identity. While many elders converted to Christianity, contemporary Tlingit "reconcile Christianity and the 'traditional culture.'"[22]
Language
The Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada speak the
Tlingit has an estimated 200 to 400 native speakers in the United States and 100 speakers in Canada.
Housing
Tlingit tribes historically built plank houses made from cedar and today call them clanhouses; these houses were built with a foundation such that they could store their belongings under the floors. It is said that these plank houses had no adhesive, nails, or any other sort of fastening devices. Clan houses were usually square or rectangular in shape and had front facing designs and totem poles to represent to which clan and moiety the makers belonged.
Economy
Many Tlingit men work in the fishing industry while women are employed at canneries or in the local handicraft industry. These handicrafts include items like wood carvings and woven baskets which are sold for practical or tourist consumption.[24]
History
Various cultures of indigenous people have continuously occupied the Alaska territory for thousands of years, leading to the Tlingit. Human culture with elements related to the Tlingit originated around 10,000 years ago near the mouths of the
Food
Food is a central part of Tlingit culture, and the land is an abundant provider. Most of the richness of intertidal life found on the beaches of Southeast Alaska can be harvested for food. Though eating off the beach could provide a fairly healthy and varied diet, eating nothing but "beach food" is considered contemptible among the Tlingit and a sign of poverty. Indeed, shamans and their families were required to abstain from all food gathered from the beach, and men might avoid eating beach food before battles or strenuous activities in the belief that it would weaken them spiritually and perhaps physically as well. Thus for both spiritual reasons as well as to add some variety to the diet, the Tlingit harvest many other resources for food besides those they easily find outside their front doors. No other food resource receives as much emphasis as salmon; however, seal and game are both close seconds.
Genetics
Genetic analyses of HLA I and HLA II genes as well as HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 gene frequencies links the
Notable Tlingit people
- Todd Gloria (b. 1978), politician
- Nora Marks Dauenhauer (1927–2017), poet, author, and scholar
- Ernestine Hayes (b. 1945), poet, memorist, and professor
- Ursala Hudson, Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver
- Nathan Jackson (artist) (born 1938), woodcarver
- Esther Littlefield (1906–1997), artist, cultural interpreter
- Lieutenant Governor of Alaska(2014–2018)
- Da-ka-xeen Mehner, photographer and installation artist
- Larry McNeil (b. 1955), photographer
- Tillie Paul (1863–1952), civil rights advocate and educator
- William Paul (1885–1977), attorney
- Elizabeth Peratrovich (1911–1958), civil rights advocate
- Clarissa Rizal (1956–2016), Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver
- Dino Rossi (b. 1959), politician
- Martin Sensmeier (b. 1985), actor
- Louis Shotridge (1883–1937), a Tlingit anthropologist and curator
- Preston Singletary (b. 1963), glass artist
- Walter Soboleff (1908–2011), scholar, elder, and religious leader
- Jennie Thlunaut (c. 1891–1986), Chilkat weaver
- X'unéi (unknown), a powerful Yakutat chief that went to war against Yeilxaak
- Yeilxaak (unknown–1791), the first chief of Klukwan to be encountered by Europeans
- Vera Starbard, playwright and author
- X̱ʼunei Lance Twitchell, scholar and author
See also
Notes
- ^ a b As of the 1990s. Pritzker, 209
- ^ "Aboriginal Population Profile, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ Pritzker, 162
- ^ a b c d e "Lingít Yoo X'atángi: The Tlingit Language." Sealaska Heritage Institute. (retrieved 3 December 2009)
- ^ Pritzker, 208
- ^ Shelikhov, Gregorii Ivanovich and Richard A. Pierce. A Voyage to America 1783–1786. Kingston: Limestone Press, 1981.
- ^ "Tlingit & Haida". Bureau of Indian Affairs. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Yakutat". Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b c Pritzker, 210
- ^ Moss, 27
- ^ "NEWS_Blog_Slavery_QA | Sealaska Heritage". www.sealaskaheritage.org. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ de Laguna, 203-28.
- ^ Taku River Tlingit
- ^ "Sealaska Corporation". sealaska.com.
- ISBN 1-933837-14-4.
- ^ "NEWS_Blog_Slavery_QA | Sealaska Heritage". www.sealaskaheritage.org. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Pritzker, 209–210
- ^ "Tlingit Culture". www.alaskan-natives.com. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ Boyd, 241
- ^ Kan, Sergei. 1999. Memory eternal: Tlingit culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity through two centuries. P.xix-xxii
- ISBN 9780295805344.
- ^ Sergei, 42
- ISBN 9780965900904.
- ISBN 0-7566-0520-2.
- ^ Pritzker, 209
- ^ "Tommy Joseph." Alaska Native Artists. (retrieved 27 December 2009
- ^ a b "Sealaska – Programs – Language – Culture – Curriculum – Tlingit." Archived 28 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Sealaska Heritage Institute. (retrieved 3 December 2009)
- ^ "Genetic link between Asians and Native Americans: Evidence from HLA genes and haplotypes". ResearchGate. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
References
- de Laguna, Fredericæ. "Tlingit." Suttles, Wayne, ed. ISBN 0-87474-187-4.
- Boyd, Robert Thomas. The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence: Introduced Infectious Diseases and Population Decline among Northwest Coast Indians, 1774–1874. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-295-97837-6.
- Moss, Madonna. Northwest Coast: Archaeology as Deep History. Washington, D.C.: Society for American Archaeology, 2011.
- Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000: 286–7. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.
- Kan, Sergei. "Shamanism and Christianity: Modern-Day Tlingit Elders Look at the Past." Klass, Morton and Maxine Wiesgrau, eds. Across the Boundaries of Belief: Contemporary Issues in the Anthropology of Religion. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8133-2695-5.
Further reading
- Emmons, George Thornton (1991). The Tlingit Indians. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-97008-0. (Contributors Frederica De Laguna and Jean Low)
- Grinev, Andrei Val'terovich (2005). The Tlingit Indians in Russian America, 1741–1867. Translated by Bland, Richard L.; Solovjova, Katerina G. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-0538-4.
- Olson, Wallace M. (2001). The Tlingit. An Introduction to Their Culture and History (Fourth ed.). Auke Bay, Alaska: Heritage Research. p. 110. ISBN 0-9659009-0-8.
- Shearar, Cheryl (2000). Understanding Northwest Coast Art. A Guide to Crests, Beings and Symbols. Madeira Park, British Columbia: Douglash & MicIntyre, University of Washington Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-55054-782-5.
- Stewart, Hilary (1979). Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast Art. Madeira Park, British Columbia: Douglash & MicIntyre, University of Washington Press. pp. 112. ISBN 978-0-295-95645-9.
- Alaskan Tlingit and Tsimshian Essay by Jay Miller - From the University of Washington Library
- Duly, Colin. The Houses of Mankind. p. 55,58.
External links
- Map and list of Tlingit Kwaans and territories
- Tlingit Language and Culture Resources, Alaska Native Knowledge Network
- Anash Interactive—An online destination where users create comics, write stories, watch webisodes, download podcasts, play games, read stories and comics by other members, and find out about the Tlingit people of Canada.
- Tlingit Myths and Texts, John R. Swanton, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 39, 1909
- Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
- The Carving of the Raven Spirit Canoe, housed in the Smithsonian Institution Archived 17 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Smithsonian Ocean Portal
- The Tlingit Culture and Language with Resources