Native American Project

In class, we were asked to research one Native American Tribe. Our main goal was to figure out how geography influenced the Native Americans. Please look at the exquisite powerpoint my partner Barbara and I made :) The Tlingit Tribe . It is filled with copious amounts of information and educational videos describing why the Tlingit people are the way they are. 

This is our outline if we were to present to the class-explaining each slide more in depth:

The Tlingit Tribe: The Influence of Geography

Pronounced ‘TLIN-git’ or ‘KLIN-kit’

1.  Location:

• The Tligit people occupy the Pacific Northwest Coast, the area known as SouthEast Alaska

• This area covers the narrow coastal strip of the continental shore along British Columbia. Tlingit communities are located from just south of Ketchikan and are scattered northward across islands and mainland as far as the Icy Bay area. Tlingit people also occupy some inland area on the Canadian side of the border in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory about 40,000 square miles.

Migration:

• Tlingit Indians and their ancestors inhabited much of what is now Glacier BayNational Park and Preserve, with both permanent and seasonal settlements.  Food and other resources were abundant.  The small population of Tlingits thrived, living close to the land, and a rich culture developed.
• Near the end of the Little Ice Age, about several hundred years ago, advancing glaciers forced the Tlingit people to abandon their villages and move to Hoonah, across Icy Strait from Glacier Bay.  Today, Hoonah Tlingits still regard Glacier Bay as their ancestral home, and feel a special connection to it.

 The Land/Food and  Trade

• The coast is covered with mountains and forests
• Located near the Gulf of Alaska, includes islands and one of the largest temperate rain forests in the world
• Because of the area people hunt deer, mountain goats, caribou and moose.  The Tlingits are also master fisherman because of the close proximity to the water and eat salmon, halibut and shellfish.  The people often use canoes to hunt seals, sea
• lions and otters.
  3.  Culture

  

  • Language:  Tlingit is a complicated language with many sounds that do not exist in English.  There are unique geographic references embedded in personal names, clan names and house names.
  • Totems/carvings:  Made from wood because of the bountiful supply in their environment.  Contained symbols that told the history of individuals or of the family.
• Religion:  The Tlingit have a long history and connection to the land, they believed in spirits all around them, that may inhabit animals or objects.  Because of their beliefs, they respected all things in the universe.  Tlingit were influenced by the Russian Orthodox missionaries and many converted to Christianity after their medicine men were not able to cure outbreaks of smallpox.  The picture in the Prezi is of the Gyhldeptis (gill-dep ‘tis) Tlingit goddess of the rainforest.

• Legends:  The legend of the Raven is very present in a number of stories and traditions.  It is the Raven who is the symbol of creation, maker of forests, mountains, rivers and seas; describing the area of the Tlingit people.  The Tlingit have a strong oral storytelling tradition.  One legend is, “How Mosquitoes Came to Be.” (link in Prezi).  There is a strong sense of family history.  Each family crests have stories and songs associate with it, the crests are sacred to family members.
• Ceremonies;  The Potlatch is one of the elaborate ceremonies.  A potlatch is a giant feast that marks a time for showing respect, paying debts, and displaying wealth. Potlatches are given for various reasons and may be planned for years in advance. The most common potlatches given today are funeral potlatches, the 40-Day Party, memorial potlatches, adoption potlatches, naming potlatches, totem-pole-raising potlatches, and house- or lodge-building potlatches.
• The Tlingits were also known to be fierce warriors. When the first Russians tried to settle in Sitka, the Tlingits drove them out, despite the guns and cannons brought by the intruders.
• Tlingits also made wood masks that they used at ceremonies. The masks depicted birds and animals. Beads, feathers, and furs decorated their ceremonial costumes.

• Games:  The Tlingits enjoyed playing games. Many of them involved gambling. The stick game was one. Several sticks in a bundle were marked. Then, through manipulation and guessing, players tried to collect all of the marked sticks.  Children played with dolls and toys.
4.  Clothing/Homes:
• Clothing:  -->men usually wore only breech cloths -- in colder weather pants and moccasins -->women only short skirts made of cedar bark. and in the colder areas they also wore longer deerskin dresses.  For formal occasions the people wore more elaborate outfits, with tunics, leggings and cloaks painted with tribal designs-->Chilkat blankets (woven from cedar bark and mountain goat hair) -->men and women sometimes worebasketry hats
• Lived in rectangular cedar-plank houses with bark roofs- up to 100 feet long-filled with about 50 people-everyone(today they live in houses just like everyday people)