The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) in Spokane, Washington has an extensive collection of American Indian items—over 30,000 objects. Many of these were obtained when the Museum of Native American Culture closed, and its collection was transferred to the MAC. In 2018, a group of Tlingit representatives of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes in Alaska investigated the MAC collections. The Tlingit team identified sixteen items of religious and cultural significance that qualified for repatriation. Before repatriation, these items were displayed for the last time at the MAC in a special exhibit, Reclaiming Culture.
According to the display:
“It is with the blessing and permission of the Tlingit people that we celebrate these important and sacred objects before they are returned to southeast Alaska and reunited with Tlingit culture keepers.”
About the Tlingit
The Tlingit were 18 distinct and autonomous groups. Each group felt that it was distinct from the others and had its own unique origins and ancestry. Tlingit territory stretched more than 400 miles along the Pacific coast.
The exhibit’s map showing the location of the Tlingit tribes appears above.
Tlingit villages were located in sheltered bays with sandy beaches for landing canoes. German geographer Aurel Krause, in his 1885 book The Tlingit Indians: Results of a Trip to the Northwest Coast of America and the Bering Straits, reported:
“Since fishing supplies the principal subsistence of these people, the choice of a place for settlement depends largely on the proximity of good fishing grounds and safe landing places for canoes.”
Like other Northwest Coast tribes, the Tlingits lived in large, multi-family houses built with planks on a post and beam frame. Some Tlingit villages consisted of only a few houses which were placed in a single row while other villages might have as many as 60 houses which might be arranged in two rows. Among the Tlingit, each house had a fixed place in the village and could not be moved to another place. If the house became too small, then annexes were built, but these were considered to be part of the original house.
Potlatch
One of the cultural features of the Northwest Coast cultures is the potlatch, a celebration in which wealth is given away. In his book The Jamestown S’Klallam Story: Rebuilding a Northwest Coast Indian Tribe, Joseph Stauss writes:
“The potlatch, as practiced by Northwest tribes, is an important ceremony that is integral to the social status of individuals. To amass wealth and give it away at a potlatch is a traditional value.”
In her entry on the Tlingit in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Tlingit writer Rosita Worl reports:
“The Tlingit potlatch has been described as a ritualized competition in which clan leaders increase their status through the opulent consumption and distribution of goods and the destruction of property. While these activities were part of the traditional ceremonial activities of a potlatch, they were not its central elements. Basically, the Tlingit social and spiritual order is acted out in the traditional potlatch.”
Shown above is a photo of a potlatch.
Another potlatch photo.
Shown above is a potlatch hat. This is a traditional clan hat made to be worn during special events and ceremonies. It is woven from spruce root and its highly stylized design highlights the weaver’s skill and mastery.
Another view of the potlatch hat.
Wooden Boxes
One of the unique items among Northwest Coast Indians are kerfed boxes in which the sides of the box are made by scoring and then bending a single board to form the sides of the box. The single side seam is then carefully fitted and sewn together with spruce root. The bottom of the box is also carefully fitted and sewn to the sides.
These boxes are waterproof and some are used for cooking. The watertight boxes can be filled with water and when hot stones are dropped into the box the water can be brought to a boil. Archaeologists Kenneth Ames and Herbert Maschner, in their book Peoples of the Northwest Coast: Their Archaeology and Prehistory, note:
“The boxes had important advantages over pottery: they stacked more easily, were more transportable and less likely to break if dropped.”
Shown above is a bent-corner box. This box is a symbol of status and would have been used to store valuable items.
Another view of the bent-corner box.
Another view of the bent-corner box.
Amulets
Shamans were the principal religious specialists among the Tlingit. German geographer Aurel Krause reports:
“Every shaman has his own spirits for whom there are special names and songs.”
Shown above are carved amulets. These are considered to be shaman objects.
According to the display:
“Amulets were made from a variety of materials including ivory and teeth, bone and antler. The hardness and density of ivory and antler were especially well suited to intricate carving; their hardness resists the wear of handling over time. The Tlingit community values these carved ivory amulets for their religious significance.”
A detail of one of the amulets.
War
Warfare has existed on the Northwest Coast for at least three thousand years. War was waged for the protection of status and revenge for the loss of status as well as for the capture of slaves. Raids would involve hundreds of warriors in dozens of war canoes. Warriors often wore full body armor which was made of wooden slats or of doubled or tripled leather. Sometimes stones would be glued to the armor. It is reported that Russian musket balls would bounce off Tlingit armor. Warriors would also wear helmets and visors which were carved and painted in fantastic images of grotesque human faces and other motifs.
Shown above is a vest made from sea lion hide and covered in Chinese coins. This vest would have served as protective armor. Prior to wearing this vest, a period of fasting is required.
According to the display:
“Tradition dictates that an implement of warfare and bloodshed be handled only by males. MAC curators observe this traditional protocol and limit handling.”
Another view of the vest.
In his book The Social Economy of the Tlingit Indians, Kalervo Oberg reports:
“War does not form an institutionalized activity among the Tlingit. There is no warrior class and war is not an accredited means to wealth and renown.”
Photographs
The Tlingit cultural consultant requested that some objects be represented by photograph rather than displaying the actual object.
Indians 101
Twice each week—on Tuesdays and Thursdays—this series explores American Indian topics. More about the Indian nations of the Northwest Coast from this series:
Indians 101: Northwest Coast Masks (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Haida Argillite Carvings (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: The Northwest Coast plank longhouse (museum diary)
Indians 101: Kwakwaka'wakw Dancers (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Suquamish Canoes (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Northwest Coast Carvings (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Northwest Coast Textiles (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Northwest Coast Boxes, Bowls, and Ladles (Photo Diary)