Athabascan

Lifestyles

When traveling, the Athabascan constructed temporary conical dwellings; they covered the structure of leaning poles with bark, brush, or hides. Their permanent habitation consisted of semi-subterranean dwellings. Birch bark served as a durable and ever-available raw material to form and create essential baskets for carrying and cooking (for example, boiling meat in water with hot stones) and especially for crafting canoes. There were two sizes of sleds used by the northern Athabascan people, the larger to transport heavy loads and the smaller for personal use. Clothing and accessories (including knives and arrow sheaths) were adorned with porcupine quillwork, especially the men's clothing. Quillwork was a time-consuming project, requiring hunting of the animal, careful removal and preparation of the quills, and the difficult sewing required to stitch through the thick moose hides, transforming them into works of art with elaborate and intricate floral and woodland motifs.

The potlatch was actively practiced and was a central societal theme for the Athabascan People. Surplus foods were stored in family caches and birch bark boxes for the various winter feasts, taking place from late fall to early spring. This was the season to put love into action, as William E. Simeone was told concerning the northern Athabascan potlatches. For instance, to give a blanket was to “wrap them in love.” The Athabascan did not hold competitive potlatches to the extent practiced by some of the coastal tribes, such as the Haida and Kwakiutls. As with other northwest coastal tribes, it was important for a chief to know his connections to all of the attendants of the [Page 297]potlatch, to what capacity they would participate, and how they would be either assisted or honored. Potlatches were also times for unmarried clan members to meet other available persons. Since the Athabascan are a matriarchal people, who follow their mother's moiety, it was important for all Athabascan to know the other clan members' moiety, and how they were derived. The Upper Tanana, for instance, have two moieties. The first are the Crow People, or Star People, or the Ones Who Came from the Sky. The second moiety is the Seagull People. It was strictly forbidden for the Upper Tanana to marry within the same moiety.

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