Tlingit

Prehistory

The Tlingit are of the Na-Dené phyla, stemming distantly from the Athabaskans, who live to the north. Cedar and salmon, which were abundant in the area, became the core ingredients to their subsistence economy. This economy was established through the feasts and ceremonies of the potlatch, the medium that encapsulated the expression of their culture. The widespread Raven culture spread from the eastern coast of Russia to the shores of western Washington. The Tlingit feel a strong relation to the surrounding earth and creatures, with whom they coexist, and this perspective produced a deep respect for their environment.

The Tlingit people are divided between the Raven and the Wolf or Eagle phratry, with numerous sub-clans under each. It was taboo for a Raven to marry another Raven or a Wolf another Wolf; even nonblood relations were considered family. So strongly was this adhered to that an uncle, as told by Frances Lackey Paul, condemned his niece to death for marrying within her clan. In this matriarchal society, children belonged to the clan of their mother. Thus, a boy began training (around the age of 12) with his maternal grandfather or uncle in the nature of subsistence hunting and fishing, and he learned which territories belonged to the clan, and practiced the skills of a warrior. The Tlingit had a hierarchical society: “masters of the clan house” or Hít s'àtí (commonly known as chiefs), highborn people, common people, and slaves; duties within the clans were dispersed according to caste. Shamans were part of the clan yet held a unique prestige and were both respected and feared.

From spring through fall, daily activities involved constructing goods and accumulating provisions for survival through the winter, as well as preparing potlatch celebrations, usually held in the winter months. From cedar, the Tlingit made longhouses, totem poles, dugout canoes, masks, fishing gear, woven clothing, and so on. Tlingit subsistence was centered on fishing, hunting, and gathering. The Tlingit were extensive traders. It is plausible that potatoes and tobacco, the only crops they cultivated, were obtained through a barter system before European contact.

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