What was the Tlingit culture?

Asked by: Ashley Cook

The culture of the Tlingit, an Indigenous people from Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon, is multifaceted, a characteristic of Northwest Coast peoples 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.

What traditions did the Tlingit tribe have?

Potlatches are a tradition of the Tlingit that has survived for many a century. These feasts allowed time for respect, paying debts, and displaying one’s wealth and status. The reputation of a clan would determine the elaborateness of a potlatch, and some may be planned for years in advance.

What is the Tlingit tribe known for?

Tlingit artists are known for their basket weaving, totem poles, and their exceptional Chilkat robes and other weavings.

What is the state of the Tlingit culture today?

Around 17,000 Tlingit still reside in the state today, mostly in urban and port areas of Southeastern Alaska (with a smaller-but-still-significant population in the Northwest). They continue carrying on their own rich traditions while actively participating in Alaska’s present-day culture and commerce.

What did the Tlingit tribe believe in?

The Tlingit tribe believed that a creator god,called Kah- shu-goon-yah, made the universe and controls its fundamental features. Raven, a Trickster god, taught the Tlingit people the institutions by which they lived. The jek, or supernatural spirits, are found in almost anything.

Why is the bear the most sacred animal to the Tlingit?

In some Tlingit legends, animals appear before people in human form and may even marry them and raise families. In this story the human wife learns to treat the bear with respect. The bear teaches her the ritual observances for its proper killing, which she brings back to her human community.

What does the name Tlingit mean?

The Tlingit are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their name for themselves is Lingít, meaning “People of the Tides“.

What was an important symbol of the Tlingit?

The Whale Hat

Painted on it is a design representing the Whale, an emblem of the leading clan of the Tlhigh-naedi moiety of the Tlingit people, and signifying greatness. The carved wooden piece, fixed on the top of the crown, with locks of human hair for ornamentation, represents the fin of the sea animal.

What was Tlingit armor made of?

Tlingit fighters dressed in body armor made of wooden slats or rods, under which they wore thick vests of moose, elk, or sea lion hide. The hardwood slats of this armor are bound together with nettle fiber.

How old is the Tlingit tribe?

11,000 years ago

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 do 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.

How did the Tlingit hunt for food?

The primary staple of the Tlingit diet, salmon was traditionally caught using a variety of methods. The most common was the fishing weir or trap to restrict movement upstream. These traps allowed hunters to easily spear a good amount of fish with little effort.

What do Tlingits do in the winter?

The Tlingits also went out to the beach to gather octopus, abalone, mussels, clams, and cockles. Among all of the seasons, the winter was the worst for gathering food. The Tlingits mostly lived on what they had stored up during the following seasons.

Where do the Tlingit live?

southern Alaska

Tlingit, northernmost of the Northwest Coast Indians of North America, living on the islands and coastal lands of southern Alaska from Yakutat Bay to Cape Fox.