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USA-Alaska - Evening in the Sitka Sound - Tlingit Region
USA-Alaska - Tlingit Indian Nathan P. Jackson
This figure on a mortuary pole from the Kaigani village of Old Kasaan, Prince of Wales Island, represents the legendary shaman Stone Eagle, who could change himself into other beings. This totem pole now stands in the Totem Heritage Center, Ketchikan.
Ceremonial paddle with raven painting on it, carved out of yellow cedar, made by Tlingit artist Reggie B. Peterson as part of his apprenticeship. The handle is modelled on a soul catcher used by the shamans. (88 cm, ICC)ICC = Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, Sitka
Bear's head on a totem pole; Auke Bay, Juneau, Alaska
Harold Jacobs, a young crafts apprentice at the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center in Sitka, poses in ceremonial clothing. He is wearing a wooden wolf hat, a thunderbird Chilkat blanket, and a silver nose ring. The wolf rattle he is holding, carved by Reggie B. Peterson, tells us that Harold Jacobs is a member of the wolf moiety.
An old chiefs hat, woven of fine spruce roots and decorated at the top with an ermine skin (about 1850). Each of the cylindrical rings is said to symbolize a potlatch hosted by the wearer of the hat, although the generally held theory that such rings are "potlatch rings" is controversial. The painted design could represent an eagle or the wealth-bringing sea monster Gonakadet. (61 cm, ASM)ASM = Alaska State Museum, Juneau
Especially impressive as examples of the art of mask making are the crown-like frontlets of the northern coastal people. A chief would wear one of these decorative headpieces during the dance to welcome his guests. The mask shown depicts what is presumably an eagle, below which is a human face. The mask is made of hardwood, haliotis, sea lion whiskers and eagle down; "fringe" is of ermine skins. (Mask 19 cm, extender 85 ern, SJM)SJM = Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka
The most famous blankets are those of the Chilkat Tlingit. The repetitive rectangular design elements and the very rare red color probably mean that it is an old Tsimshian blanket. (159 cm; NMM)NMM = National Museum of Man, Ottawa
This replica of an eagle clan hat was specifically made for the museum by a Tlingit artist. It is made of haliotis and human hair. (27 cm diagonal; ASM)ASM = Alaska State Museum, Juneau
This small bear figurine with its four «potlatch rings» was probably part of a larger headdress at one time. (Figure 18 cm, SJM)SJM = Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka
The upper end of a talking stick, which was held by a chief on ceremonial occasions; with wolfs head and haliotis inlays. (166 cm, SJM)SJM = Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka
Rattles also belonged to the insignia of a chief. This old raven rattle has two special features: First, a human face is carved onto the upright tail feathers and, second, the tiny human figure is holding two large mountain goat horns. (35 cm; MOA; A5254)MOA = Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
This basket, collected around the turn of the century (1900), is a stunning example. It is woven of spruce roots and multicolored grasses. The blue color is created with huckleberries. (38 cm, ASM)ASM = Alaska State Museum, Juneau
This photograph of a section of one of the four house posts that supported the roof beams of the eagle's nest house in Sitka shows the legendary young eagle who helped a girl to survive after an epidemic had killed her clan. The girl later became the ancestor of the Kaagwaantaan clan, which made the four 200-year-old house posts available to the Sitka National Historical Park on a long-term loan.
These two brothers, Harrry and Peter Johnson, supplement their income as Chilkat dancers, performing with the famous dance group in Haines, Alaska. Their costumes and masks are replicas of the originals.
In the 1930s, the Stikine Tlingit moved to Wrangell, where they built a ceremonial house on the small island in the harbor. The house was ceremoniously opened in 1940. The painting on the front indicates it is a bear clan house.
The back wall inside the house is painted in a design based on a Chilkat blanket. The two house posts carved with killer whales and, on the right, with cuttlefish, are copies of old, decayed posts. They were added in 1985 and dedicated by means of a potlatch
On another house post in the bear clan house in Wrangell, a large anthropomorphic bear appears to be protecting the figure of a human being, while a frog peers out of its mouth.
The artist Nathan P. Jackson models the frontlet of his own raven moiety and a ceremonial button blanket. He carved the mask himself. Button blankets are considered the cheaper version of the Chilkat blanket. They are made of recut Hudson's Bay blankets and decorated with haliotis buttons. Visible in the background are the Tongass Narrows near Ketchikan.
The wooden armor of a Tlingit warrior with the symbol of his clan. (53 cm, SJM)SJM = Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka
In defending Sitka in 1804 against the attacking Russians, the Tlingit war chief Katlean wore this raven helmet. It is made out of a piece of wood covered with bear skin. The eyes are copper. (28 cm, SJM)SJM = Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka
Tlingit war dagger. The blade was ground out of a file, the handle is carved cedar with haliotis inlays. (51 cm; NMM)NMM = National Museum of Man, Ottawa
A wooden shaman figure with human hair, earrings made of animal teeth and a leather apron. The figure, which represents a shaman singing and shaking rattles, is assumed to have been carved by a Tlingit shaman more than 100 years ago. (30 cm, SJM)SJM = Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka
Charm of a Chilkat Tlingit shaman. Made of bone, it is carved in the shape of a sea monster with its offspring underneath its belly and a cuttlefish behind it. (13 cm, SJM)SJM = Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka
Chilkat dancers in the large theater in Haines, Alaska. Tlingits were not the only participants; young white people were allowed to join the group. Could this be genuine cultural exchange?
In his large studio next to Saxman Totem Park in Ketchikan, Nathan P. Jackson works on a new totem pole for a ceremonial house planned for the communitv. As with all Northwest Coast artists, his most important tool is the adze.
Reggie B. Peterson was employed in wood carver and silversmith at the Southeast Alaska Cultural Center in Sitka. Here the Tlingit artist puts the finishing touches on an alder wood mask.
In the summer of 1985 the Indian Cultural Center in Sitak hired Margaret Gross as sewing instructor. The art includes the creation of so-called octopus bags and button blankets (see 29), two Tlingit specialties.
Richard Hunt, master carver at Thunderbird Park, part of the British Columbia Provincial Museum in Victoria, paints a Gakhula mask. The Gakhula beings appear in the Klasila dance ceremonies that were performed in the winter. They mockingly interrupted the dance procession and were then escorted from the ceremonial house.
The White Man in the Land of the Wuckitan Tlingit. Detail of a totem pole from Nathan P. Jackson in front of Centennial Hall, created in 1981 for Juneau's Centennial celebration.
Shark mask made of alder, with hair and haliotis inserts. The artist Reggie B. Peterson carved it to .qualify as a master carver in 1980. It represents the crest of his clan.
