Culture of the Tlingit

Wealth and economic power are important indicators of status, but so is generosity and proper behavior, all signs of "good breeding" and ties to aristocracy.

Instead individuals identify with their matrilineal clan (naa), a large group of people related by shared genealogy, history, and possessory rights.

Because of the heavy emphasis on clan and matrilineal descent, the father played a relatively minor role in the lives of his children.

This led to numerous confrontations and skirmishes among the Europeans and Tlingit in early history, since a particular "chief" could only hold sway over members of his own household and not over others in the village.

A high stature hít s'aatí could convince unrelated villagers to behave a certain way, but if he lost significant status the community would begin to ignore him, much to the dismay of Europeans who were depending on his authority.

This constituted an ideal marriage in traditional Tlingit society, where the children were of the same clan as their paternal grandfather and could thus inherit his wealth, prestige, names, occupation, and personal possessions.

More familiar property objects are buildings, rivers, totem poles, berry patches, canoes, and works of art.

The Tlingit apply the indigenous concept of property mostly in ceremonial circumstances, such as after the death of an individual, the construction of clan houses, erection of totem poles, etc.

Usually the resources in question are food sources, such as salmon streams, herring spawning grounds, berry patches, and fishing holes.

Since the level of inter-clan disagreements has declined, the attitude towards resource ownership is at a point where few persecute trespass into clan areas, as long as the individuals involved show respect and restraint in their harvest.

koo.éex' ) were held for deaths, births, naming, marriages, sharing of wealth, raising totems, special events, honoring the leaders or the departed.

Clan members from the opposite moiety took part in the ritual by receiving gifts and hearing and performing songs and stories.

In anticipation of great Potlatches, some being planned for years, wealthy Tlingit would commission craftsmen for the creation of some of the largest and most vivid totem poles in order to commemorate the event.

Popular among the Tlingit were ornaments made of haliotis shells, copper, wood, and bone which were shaped to assume different geometrical forms.

As the Tlingit became familiar with metal working and materials such as silver, they tended to use older ornaments of bone and wood with decreasing frequency.

[11] The process involved the passing of a needle, bone or metal, with blue-black stained sinew beneath the skin to create the necessary designs and motifs.

These ornate pommels depict artistic representations of animals such as ravens, bears, and other wildlife that are Tlingit cultural subjects.

The introduction of firearms phased out the importance of the Tlingit dagger as an implementation of war, though they remained as a striking symbol of status.

When trade began in earnest with Europeans one English captain named George Dixon wrote on the high standards held by the Tlingit in regard to their metal, stating that they would deal only with iron pieces ranging from 8 to 14 inches.

In 1786, Jean-Francois de Galoup the Comte de La Perouse, wrote that the Tlingit had; “No great desire for anything but iron… Everyone had a dagger of it (iron) suspended from the neck.”[14] The Tlingit, Haida, and Eastern Aleuts produced some of the best warriors in the Northwest, with these tribes often engaging in battle against one another in order to procure slaves and material resources.

[14] In order to defend their families and local communities, as there did not exist any kind of central government that could levy protection, individual groups of Tlingit warriors would band together for defensive and offensive actions.

Furthermore, the warrior wore linens and a leather jacket beneath wooden slat armor, which would be sometimes vividly painted with Tlingit aesthetic motifs.

[18] In 1802, a coalition of Tlingit tribes were able to overcome the Russian garrison at Sitka and take control of the region, building their own fortifications and armed with cannons.

Shaman were very influential and important figures in Tlingit warfare, engaging in the direction of much of the necessary training, coordination, and preparation of the outgoing war party.

This back and forth between the warring parties would continue in order to incite fear in either side, and could at times settle the engagement without blood being shed.

[20] The goal of most of these conflicts was to procure resources and tribute, extremely bloody actions were often not in the best interests for any of the warring parties unless absolutely required.

The Tlingits used a body armor made from Chinese cash coins, these coins were introduced by Russian traders from Qing China between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries who traded them for animal skins which were in turn traded with the Chinese for tea, silk, and porcelain by these European traders.

The Tlingits believed that these cash coins would protect them from knife attacks and guns used by other indigenous American tribes and Russians.

Some Tlingit body armors are completely covered in Qing dynasty era cash coins while others have them sewn in chevron patterns.

One Russian account from a battle with the Tlingits in 1792 states "bullets were useless against the Tlingit armor",[citation needed] however this would have more likely be attributed to the inaccuracy of contemporary Russian smoothbore muskets than the body armour[citation needed] and the Chinese coins might have played a more important role in psychological warfare than have any practical application on the battlefield.