Tlingit believed that everything was of equal value. Things like a tree or rock were equal to a deer or bear. Each clan had identifying crests. There are two main clans the Eagles and Ravens which are then divided into smaller numerous clans. Each clan is very proud of their crest even if it's a snail or squirrel. Neither clan is considered to be superior. These people will not tolerate misuse or disrespect of their crest, songs, stories, and dances that come with it. If they beileve they have been disrespected or offended they demand payment. They believe in "an eye for an eye" but within a legal means now a days because of the influence of Americans. In the past the ravens wer only allowed to marry into the eagles and vice versa. Now a day's people of the tribe are allowed to marry within the tribe and even to people who aren't part of the Tlingit.
The Tlingit believed in, Kah-shu-gooh-yah who is the creator. They also believed in Raven who organized the world and its customs. The Tlingit believed that the world was filled with spirits who could manifest their powers through anything like animals. The Tlingit were taught to respect everything because of the spirits power and if they didn’t respect everything around them it would result in a loss of food. A common tradition of the Tlingit is a Potlaches, which is a large gathering and also means “to give”. During these gatherings it was common for the clans to serve each other. Each clan would bring offerings of food and entertainment like dances and games. These Potlaches were often held for marriages, death, births, raising of a Totem pole, celebration of wealth, or honoring the dead.
Each person also had their own guardian spirit known as a tu-na-jek. When a person died it was believed that their spirit would go to an afterlife based on the morality of life. There are two afterlives that were called Kiwa-wa and Ketl-kiwa. If you were good you would go to kiwa-wa which is like heaven and if you were bad you went to ketl-kiwa which is like hell. Both of these afterlives were not eternal though they only lasted for a short time because the spirits would be reincarnated.
The Tlingit also believe strongly in family, kinship and a tradition of oratory. Wealth and economic power are indicators of rank. Generosity and good behavior are also heavily embedded in the Tlingit culture. Art and spirituality are everywhere in the Tlingit culture, even the spoons and boxes are decorated with spiritual power and historical beliefs.
N.p., n.d. "Religion and Traditions." The Tlingit People. Retrieved September 22, 2015
N.p., n.d.. "Religions in World Cultures." Religions in World Cultures Native Alaskan Tribe Religion Begins to Die While Traditions Continue: Comments. Retrieved October 27, 2015
Glacier Bay: Home to the Tlingit
The Tlinglit are located in the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. The Tlingit claim the land around the Yukatan south through the Alaskan Panhandle and the lakes of the Canadian interior. The Tlingit are a matrilineal society that developed in the temperate rainforest of the southeast Alaska coast and the Alexander Archipelago. An inland group, known as the Inland Tlingit, inhabits the far northwestern part of the province of British Columbia and the southern Yukon Territory in Canada.
September 22, 2015
September 9, 2015
History and Origins
The Tlingit tribe has ancestral origins in the Aani, which it the Southeast portion of Alaska. Their lineage as a tribe is traced to originate to this place. An interesting historical fact about the Tlingit is their matrilineal system for ancestry. This means that the Tlingit trace their family lineage through the female ancestors rather than the males. This idea holds true to the Haida, a neighboring tribe with a different cultural background. This idea is fairly unique to its region.
The Tlingit have always lived on the same grounds in Southeast Alaska. They have had no reason to move, which means they have a hunter gatherer lifestyle that has surpassed a nomadic stage. Two of their biggest and most valuable resources are food and cultivation of crops. They take great pride in their ability to harvest strength from the land around them. They have been living in this fashion since the inception of the Tlingit and Haida clans, who live in the same region with respect for one another.
The Clans mark their territories by using totem poles, which is another important tradition for the Tlingit tribe. The naturally growing cedar trees in the area are used for either totem poles, utensils, ceremonial regalia and their main source of transportation, canoes. The Tlingit have used canoes as a means of transportation since their tribe's origins, and thus have vast knowledge on how to build them. Their craftsmanship of cedar canoes is masterful, and is used locally as a form of barter currency. Though they do have their own currency for the realm, the barter system if still often used with the Tlingit, particularly with outside traders.
The Tlingit have also taken efforts to be involved with the outside world as a means to protect their rights on their own land. This is a losing battle as the western world pushes their rights to govern themselves. However, the Tlingit are still fighting to control their own lands. This is also a losing battle because as commercialism develops in these areas, the amount of land from which the Tlingit can hunt or gather diminishes, and therefore their tribe loses power. This is an issue that the Tlingit and the Haida have been experiencing, and they have both been taking efforts to both fight back from this expansion and see to it that their traditions and history be preserved as much as is humanly possible.
Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribe. 2015. "Our History." September 9, 2015.
The Tlingit have always lived on the same grounds in Southeast Alaska. They have had no reason to move, which means they have a hunter gatherer lifestyle that has surpassed a nomadic stage. Two of their biggest and most valuable resources are food and cultivation of crops. They take great pride in their ability to harvest strength from the land around them. They have been living in this fashion since the inception of the Tlingit and Haida clans, who live in the same region with respect for one another.
The Clans mark their territories by using totem poles, which is another important tradition for the Tlingit tribe. The naturally growing cedar trees in the area are used for either totem poles, utensils, ceremonial regalia and their main source of transportation, canoes. The Tlingit have used canoes as a means of transportation since their tribe's origins, and thus have vast knowledge on how to build them. Their craftsmanship of cedar canoes is masterful, and is used locally as a form of barter currency. Though they do have their own currency for the realm, the barter system if still often used with the Tlingit, particularly with outside traders.
The Tlingit have also taken efforts to be involved with the outside world as a means to protect their rights on their own land. This is a losing battle as the western world pushes their rights to govern themselves. However, the Tlingit are still fighting to control their own lands. This is also a losing battle because as commercialism develops in these areas, the amount of land from which the Tlingit can hunt or gather diminishes, and therefore their tribe loses power. This is an issue that the Tlingit and the Haida have been experiencing, and they have both been taking efforts to both fight back from this expansion and see to it that their traditions and history be preserved as much as is humanly possible.
Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribe. 2015. "Our History." September 9, 2015.
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