The Tlingit tribes believed in using the natural resources around them to create their homes . They used large planks of wood, and often carved figures into the doorways to represent their family. One common tradition that the Tlingit families still follow is the use of totem poles.
What is the Tlingit culture like today?
Tlingit Government
Today the traditional clan system is enjoying a strong resurgence in many communities . Local tribal governments recognized by the United States Government are present in Tlingit communities as well, and many of these were developed under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.
What is important to the Tlingit culture?
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.
What religion is the Tlingit tribe?
Between 1886-1895, in the face of their shamans' inability to treat Old World diseases including smallpox, most of the Tlingit people converted to Orthodox Christianity . After the introduction of Christianity, the Tlingit belief system began to erode.
What do the Tlingit call themselves?
During formal introductions, Tlingits identify themselves by their clans, kwáans, and houses. Before the Tsimshian arrived in Southeast Alaska, they had a moiety system. Today they call them phratries rather than moieties. The phratries are divided into four groups.
What are the most important natural resources of the Tlingit people?
One of the most bountiful available resources to the Tlingit is the forest . Teeming with great cedar, spruce and hemlock trees, the forest provides materials for endless Tlingit necessities: canoes, houses, baskets, hunting tools, ceremonial hats, mats, weavings, etc.
What is the most notable art form seen by the Tlingit people?
However, totem poles are the most notable art form seen from the Tlingit people. The figures featured on totem poles are comparable to family crests, featuring animals used in describing the tale of a clan's history and mythology.
How is Tlingit pronounced?
Although the name is spelled “Tlingit” in English it is actually pronounced [ˈklɪŋ. kɪt], i.e. “Klinkit” . This is due to the spelling and the pronunciation in English having two different approximations of the voiceless lateral fricative [ɬ] spelled as either ł or l in Tlingit.
What does Tlingit mean in English?
The Tlingit (/ˈklɪŋkɪt/ or /ˈtlɪŋɡɪt/; also spelled Tlinkit; Russian: Тлинкиты) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively Lingít, pronounced [ɬɪ̀nkɪ́th]), in which the name means ‘ People of the Tides ‘.
What cultural practices did Tlingit have that were different from other tribes?
The Tlingit are unique and unrelated to other tribes around them. They have no linguistic relationship to any other language except for a vague similarity to the Athabaskan language . They also share some cultural similarity with the Athabaskan, with whom the Tlingit have interacted and traded for centuries.
What animals are important to the Tlingit culture?
Tlingit men caught fish and sea mammals from their canoes. They also hunted deer, mountain goats, and birds. Some Tlingit bands, who lived further inland, relied more on big game like caribou and moose. Tlingit women gathered shellfish, seaweed, berries, and roots.
Do the Kwakiutl still exist?
The Kwakiutl people are indigenous (native) North Americans who live mostly along the coasts of British Columbia, which is located in the northwest corner of Canada. Today, there are about 5,500 Kwakiutls living here on the tribe's own reserve , which is land specially designated for Native American tribes.
How long has the Tlingit tribe been around?
The Tlingit people, whose name means “People of the Tides”, have a vast history; many speculate its origins dating as early as 11,000 years ago . Two major theories exist as to where the Tlingit people originate from, the largest being a coastal migration across the Bering Strait land mass from north Asia.
What is the difference between Haida and Tlingit?
The Haida (HIGH-duh) live on Prince of Wales Island as well as on Haida Gwaii in Canada. The Tlingit (CLINK-it) live throughout all of Southeast Alaska. The Tsimshian (SIM-shee-ann) people live primarily in Metlakatla, Alaska's only reservation, and British Columbia, Canada.
What is a Tlingit Potlatch?
The word “potlatch” means “to give” from the Chinook jargin on the Columbian River . ... For many Northwest Coast Native peoples, includng the Tlingit people, potlatches (ku. éex') were an immensely important occasion featuring speeches, dancing, singing, feasting, and the lavish distribution of property.
Are Tlingit and Inuit the same?
“Inuit is the general term for Eskimos but our preferred term is Inupiat (The Real People); our language is Inupiaq. Our cousins to the south call themselves Yupiit – Yupik for singular, but their language is Yupik as well.” It's not subsistence, it's a way of life.
