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Tlingit

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For other uses, see Tlingit (disambiguation).
Tlingit
File:Tlingit portraits.jpg
From the top, L-R:
Anotklosh, Elizabeth Peratrovich, Nathan Jackson,
Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Kalyáan (Katlian), William L. Paul,
Anaxóots (Anahootz), Tommy Joseph, Qadjint (Princess Thom)
Regions with significant populations
USA (Alaska), Canada (British Columbia, Yukon)
Languages
English, Tlingit
Religion
Christianity, esp. Russian Orthodox, traditional

The Tlingit (/ˈklɪŋk[invalid input: 'ɨ']t/ or /ˈtlɪŋɡ[invalid input: 'ɨ']t/; also spelled Tlinkit) are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America.[2] Their name for themselves is Lingít,[3] meaning "People of the Tides"[4] (pronounced [ɬɪŋkɪ́t]). The Russian name Koloshi (Колоши) (from an Sugpiaq-Alutiiq term kulut'ruaq for the labret worn by women) or the related German name Koulischen may be encountered referring to the people in older historical literature, such as Shelikhov's 1796 map of Russian America.[5]

The Tlingit are a matrilineal society[6] that developed in the temperate rainforest of the southeast Alaska coast and the Alexander Archipelago. The Tlingit maintained a complex hunter-gatherer culture based on semi-sedentary management of fisheries.[7] An inland group, known as the Inland Tlingit, inhabits the far northwestern part of the province of British Columbia and the southern Yukon Territory in Canada.

Culture

A Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan ca. 1901
Main article: Culture of the Tlingit

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 tradition of oratory. Wealth and economic power are important indicators of status, 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 moieties, the Raven and the Eagle. These in turn are divided into numerous clans, which are subdivided into lineages or house groups. They have a matrilineal kinship system, with descent and inheritance passed through the mother's line. These groups have heraldic crests, which are displayed on totem poles, canoes, feast dishes, house posts, weavings, jewelry, and other art forms.[6] The Tlingits passed down at.oow(s) or blankets that represented trust. Only a Tlingit Indian can inherit one but they can also pass it down to someone they trust, who becomes responsible for caring for it but does not rightfully own it.

Philosophy and religion

Main article: Philosophy and religion of the Tlingit

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 animists, and hunters ritually purified themselves before hunting animals. Shamans, primarily men, cured diseases, influenced weather, aided in hunting, predicted the future, and protected people against witchcraft.[8]

Between 1886 and 1895, in the face of their shamans' inability to treat Old World diseases including smallpox, many Tlingit people converted to Orthodox Christianity.[9] Russian Orthodox missionaries had translated their liturgy into the Tlingit language. It has been argued that they saw Eastern Orthodox Christianity as a way of resisting assimilation to the "American way of life," which was associated with Presbyterianism.[10] After the introduction of Christianity, the Tlingit belief system began to erode.[citation needed]

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.'"[11]

Language

Main article: Tlingit language

The Tlingit language (Lingít [ɬiŋkít]) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada.[3] It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. It is well known not only for its complex grammar and sound system, but also for using certain phonemes unheard in almost any other language.

Tlingit has an estimated 200-400 native speakers in the United States and 100 speakers in Canada.[3] The speakers are bilingual or near-bilingual in English. Extensive effort is being put into revitalization programs in Southeast Alaska to revive and preserve the Tlingit language and its culture. Sealaska Heritage Institute and the University of Alaska, Southeast both have Tlingit language programs, and community classes are held in Klukwan and Angoon.[3]

History

Main article: History of the Tlingit
Two Tlingit girls, near Copper River (Alaska), 1903. Photograph taken by the Miles Brothers

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 Skeena and Nass Rivers. The historic Tlingit's first contact with Europeans came in 1741 with Russian explorers. Spanish explorers followed in 1775. Tlingits maintained their independence but suffered from epidemics of smallpox and other infectious diseases brought by the Europeans. The Native Americans had no immunity to such endemic Eurasian diseases, which had entered Europe centuries before. [12]

Food

Tommy Joseph, Tlingit woodcarver and sculptor from Sitka, Alaska[13]
Main article: Food of the Tlingit

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.

Halibut, shellfish, and seaweed traditionally provided food in the spring, while late spring and summer bring seal and salmon. Summer is a time for gathering wild and tame berries, such as salmonberry, soap berry, and currants.[14] In fall, sea otters are hunted.[6] Herring and eulachon are also important staples, that can be eaten fresh or dried and stored for later use. Fish provide meat, oil, and eggs.[14] Sea mammals, such as sea lions and sea otters, are used for food and clothing materials. In the forests near their homes, Tlingit hunted deer, bear, mountain goats and other small mammals

Notable Tlingit people

See also

Notes

  1. ^ As of the 1990s. Pritzker, 209
  2. ^ Pritzker, 162
  3. ^ a b c d "Lingít Yoo X'atángi: The Tlingit Language." Sealaska Heritage Institute. (retrieved 3 December 2009)
  4. ^ Pritzker, 208
  5. ^ Shelikhov, Gregorii Ivanovich and Richard A. Pierce. A Voyage to America 1783–1786. Kingston: Limestone Press, 1981.
  6. ^ a b c Pritzker, 210
  7. ^ Moss, 27
  8. ^ Pritzker, 209-210
  9. ^ Boyd, 241
  10. ^ Kan, Sergei. 1999. Memory eternal: Tlingit culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity through two centuries. P.xix-xxii
  11. ^ Sergei, 42
  12. ^ Pritzker, 209
  13. ^ "Tommy Joseph." Alaska Native Artists. (retrieved 27 December 2009
  14. ^ a b "Sealaska - Programs - Language - Culture - Curriculum - Tlingit." Sealaska Heritage Institute. (retrieved 3 December 2009)

References

Further reading

  • Emmons, George Thornton. The Tlingit Indians. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0-295-97008-0. (Contributors Frederica De Laguna and Jean Low)
  • The Tlingit Indians in Russian America, 1741-1867: 1741-1867, Andrei Val'terovich Grinev, Richard L. Bland, Katerina G. Solovjova, Translated by Richard L. Bland, Katerina G. Solovjova, Contributor Richard L. Bland, Katerina G. Solovjova, U. of Nebraska Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8032-2214-9, ISBN 978-0-8032-2214-4, 386 pp.
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