Native Cultures of Coastal Alaska: The Tlingit
This is part 1 of a 2 part series entitled “Native Cultures of Coastal Alaska: The Tlingit and the Inuit.”
Read Part 2
Along with spectacular waterfront and mountain views, pristine lakes and rivers, abundant wildlife and natural attractions, Juneau, Alaska is also known for its rich native culture. Influencing everything from clothing and jewelry for sale in the local shops, to local culinary delights, to the reverence many Alaskan’s hold for their property, land and wildlife, the native people of Southeast Alaska played a prominent role in the development of the diverse culture many visitors now enjoy in Alaska’s capital city.
Far before Europeans, Americans and Russians discovered and influenced the then remote land now known as Alaska, the area was home to a diverse population of native peoples. The two most influential cultures in the Juneau area were the Tlingit and the Inuit.
The Tlingit
The Tlingit are a race of indigenous people from the remote Pacific Northwest Coast. At their peak, their territory
A Tlingit woman and her son dressed in traditional Tlingit clothing.
ranged along the Pacific Coast from southern British Columbia to areas north of Juneau, Alaska and included the temperate rainforest of southeast Alaska and the Alexander Archipelago. In their native tongue, the name they give themselves is “Ligit”, which translates as “People of the Tides.” They are a matrilineal society, meaning they trace their lineage through their maternal ancestors, including inheritance and transfer of wealth. They are historically a hunter/gatherer culture, subsisting on foodstuffs from wild plants and animals rather than from domesticated versions of either.
Culture
The Tlingit culture is complex and multifaceted in nature, characteristic of most North West Pacific Coast peoples with easy access to rich, waterfront resources. They place heavy emphasis on family and kinship and have a rich oratory tradition, with many stories reflecting their system of beliefs and values. Material wealth brings status, but so does “good behavior”. Generosity and proper manners are considered marks of “good breeding” and suppose aristocratic ties.
Spirituality is incorporated into all aspects of their culture, specifically through artistic embellishment. All objects, even everyday items like spoons and bowls, are intricately carved and lovingly produced, as the Tlingit believe that all things, even wood and stone, are imbued with spiritual power and should be honored accordingly. (This tradition is reflected in many of the traditional Tlingit objects you can find for sale in Juneau’s art galleries and gift shops and accounts for the popularity of their artwork).
Every member of the Tlingit people can trace their ancestry to one of two “moieties” or descendent lines: the Raven
Hoonah, Alaska, a Tlingit community on Chichagof Island near Juneau, Alaska. The port there is also known as Port Frederick. © iStockPhoto.com
and the Eagle. Each of these lines has divided over time into “house groups”, or clans. Each group has it’s own heraldic crest made up of images of animals, spirits, objects and unique designs and these are carved and displayed on totem poles, canoes, dishes, house posts, weavings, jewelry and other art.
Totem Poles
Along with other nearby peoples, the Tlingit created tall wood
A Tlingit totem pole. © iStockPhoto.com
carvings out of cedar trees to represent the spirits of their houses and to document an individual’s or family’s status within a village. Called “totem poles”, these works of art were thought to have originated as artistically carved support poles used in the interior of houses. Because cedar decays readily in the Pacific Northwest, few poles from the 1800’s or before remain, and only a handful survive in Canadian museums. As a result, the origins of the Tlingit totem pole are not clearly documented or understood.
Iron tools became more popular among the Tlingit during American and European trade exploration of remote Southeastern Alaska in the mid and late 1800’s. As a result, totem poles became more popular because iron tools made them easier to make. Members of local tribes became wealthy off the burgeoning fur-trade and house leaders commissioned carvings of larger, more impressive poles that were then placed outside their homes as symbols of status and prosperity.
At about the same time, Christian missionaries, who were disconcerted with the Totem Pole’s spiritual symbolism and considered them objects of heathen worship (though in fact they were never objects of worship), urged converts to cease production and destroy existing poles. American and Canadian public policy also encouraged the assimilation and conversion of native cultures and the dismantling of those culture’s systems of beliefs, including symbolism. As a result, the art of Totem pole carving underwent a dramatic decline at the end of the 1800’s and almost became a lost art.
In the mid 20th century, a linguistic and artistic revival of native Tlingit culture was inspired by scholars who scrutinized the wisdom of eradicating native practices, beliefs and art, and pushed for a more educated and empathetic public. The art of totem pole carving enjoyed a revival, and was extended to other mediums, including jewelry, glass and stone.
Today, there are a number of successful native artists who carve totem poles on a commissioned basis. The process takes 6 to 12 months, and commissions usually start in the 10’s of thousands of dollars. Because the process is painstaking and requires a master’s skill, the price of a totem pole is the artist’s primary means of income during the commissioned period.
Though there is a common belief that vertical order of imagery is of profound importance in a totem pole carving, it is in fact not true. Each artist has always the freedom to place the most important symbols in whatever vertical order they wish. Some place the most important symbols at the top, others at the bottom, and others in the middle. The erroneous belief that the most important symbols were always placed at the top gave rise to the popular English phrase “low man on the totem pole”.
Totem poles used for public ridicule are called “shame poles”. They are usually erected when one house has not made
A Tlingit man dressed in ceremonial clothing and mask. © iStockPhoto.com
good on a debt from another. Shame poles are erected on the shamed house’s property, usually on land owned by the house’s leader and often next to his dwelling, and are left in place as a visual reminder of the house’s dishonorable actions until the debt is paid. A shame pole was erected in Cordova, Alaska in March of 2007 and depicts the upside down and distorted face of Exxon Ex-CEO Lee Raymond. It represents the still unpaid debt courts ordered Exxon to pay the Alaskan people affected by the oil spill in Valdez, Alaska.
Native Tlingit Philosophy and Religion
The Tlingit are traditionally animist, meaning they believe objects other than people, including animals, land, water and weather, have spirits or souls. This philosophy profoundly effects their traditional beliefs and rituals, and is reflected in their language, architecture, arts, crafts, and social interactions.
Before hunting animals, Tlingit hold rituals to purify themselves so they are properly prepared to meet spirits released from animals they kill. Properly preparing oneself and paying reverence to each spirit they release means the spirit will not be angered, so balance and harmony is preserved and vengeful spirits will not haunt the hunters or their families.
Shamans, which are usually men, learn over years to commune with these spirits, asking them to aid in the cure of disease, to increase the success of hunting, to influence the weather or other naturally occurring phenomenon, and to protect people against bad luck, evil spirits and witchcraft.
Tlingit Conversion to Christianity
In the late 1800’s, many Tlingit converted to Orthodox Christianity when they lost faith in their Shamans who were unable to successfully treat outbreaks of Old World diseases like Smallpox. These diseases were brought to the Tlingit people by American and European frontiersman and fur traders. Russian missionaries translated their scriptures into the Tlingit language and it is thought that the Tlingit chose Orthodox Christianity over Presbyterianism, because Presbyterianism was associated with the Americans and therefore with the outbreak of disease.
While belief in traditional Tlingit philosophies and religious beliefs are uncommon today, many contemporary Tlingit, particular young adults, are reconciling their culture’s traditional beliefs with Christianity in order to embrace their ancient ancestry and identity.
The Tlingit Language
Complex in grammar and well known for using rare phonemes (types of sounds), there are only 200-400 native Tlingit speakers left on the planet today. Alarmed at the prospect of losing the Tlingit’s important oral tradition, many local Alaskan and Canadian programs now exist to revive and preserve the language and thereby a large part of the Tlingit’s native culture. Many colleges now offer Tlingit courses, and local communities offer continuing education classes that teach conversational Tlingit.
Food
Food was central to the native Tlingit culture. Though tidal waterfronts and beaches in their native homeland yield a rich and diverse source of foodstuffs, it was considered a sign of poverty to eat only things that thrived on the waterfront or beach. Spiritually, the native Tlingit believed food from the waterfront or beach weakened one spiritually, so men avoided eating it before strenuous activity, like hunting or fighting. Salmon, halibut, shellfish, herring and eulachon were staples in the traditional Tlingit diet, which was supplemented by seal, sea otter, deer, bear, mountain goat and other small mammals. Seaweed, salmonberry, soap berry and currants were gathered from native plants and used to prepare a large number of dishes, a few of which are the inspirations for dishes offered in local waterfront restaurants in modern downtown Juneau.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlingit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem_pole
http://www.alaska-cruise-advisor.com/totem-pole.html
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Tlingit.html
