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.
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.
The Tlingit have a deep and unusual heritage unique to Native Americans. They trace their heritage through their mothers rather than the masculine counterpart, which is different from most indigenous peoples. They also are able to maintain their traditional crafts such as building canoes evnen after interaction with the modern industrialized world. Though western influences can be seen, it is interesting that they adhere to their traditional trade and values despite interacting with industrialized cultures.
ReplyDeleteAs a member of an industrialized nation, it is wonderful to see that people still maintain their traditional means of production. It allows for the authenticity of their culture to remain, and that is something that cannot be done with modernized cultures with industrial production and replaceable parts. Industry cripples a culture's capacity to be original.