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North South East West

American Indians and the Natural World

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  • Home
  • Introduction
  • Tlingit
    • Introduction
    • Partners with Nature
    • We Talk to the Trees
    • Transformations
    • Heirlooms
    • Newcomers
  • Hopi
    • Introduction
    • Corn
    • Weddings
    • Children
    • Beyond Corn
    • Water
    • Enduring People
  • Iroquois
    • Introduction
    • Sovereign People
    • The Three Sisters
    • In the Forest
    • Surviving Creatively
    • Walking the Steel
  • Lakota
    • Introduction
    • The Great Plains
    • Winter Count
    • Sky Watching
    • The Circle of Relatives
    • Changing Circumstances

Tlingit People of the Northwest Coast

Introduction

The coastal Tlingit people live on the beaches and islands in the southeastern Alaska Panhandle, tucked between the tidewater and the rugged coastal mountains. Heavy rainfall creates a luxurious rainforest environment and a temperate climate more like Seattle than Anchorage. The numerous islands create a protected waterway, called the Inland Passage, that permits travel and communication by water.

The Tlingits are the northernmost nation of the Northwest Coast peoples, who range from southern Alaska to the coast of Oregon. These coastal groups created luxurious societies founded upon the abundant resources of the forest and the sea.

To this day, the livelihood of the Tlingit people continues to be linked to the bounty of the natural world. The people maintain interests in both fishing and forestry, industries that have supported the Tlingits for centuries.

Map of Alaska showing the Tinglit region in the bottom corner closest to what is now Canada
Southeast Alaska: The coast of southeast Alaska, with its islands, inlets, estuaries, fjords, and rivers, is the home of the Tlingit people.

Tlingit women achieved fame for their finely twined spruce root baskets decorated with dyed grass applied in a technique termed "false embroidery." Wealthy basket collectors sought to augment their collections with Tlingit examples.

four uniquely shaped woven baskets in brown and tan colors

Baskets, pictured left to right

Trinket Basket
Tlingit peoples, Alaska, pre-1923
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) root, unidentified grass, pebbles? Dye; H 14.5 x D 17.2 cm; 8946-11a & b, gift of H.J. Heinz

Basket
Ernestine Hanlon, Tlingit, Leineid (Raven-Dog Salmon) Clan, Hoonah, Alaska, 1995
Sitka spruce root (Picea sitchensis), unidentified grass, natural dyes; H 15.5 x D 14.0; 35989-1

Basket
Tlingit peoples, Alaska, collected 1904
Sitka spruce root (Picea sitchensis), unidentified grass; H 27.3 x D 28.2; 3167-57

Berry Basket
Tlingit peoples, Alaska, collected 1904
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) root, unidentified grass, commercial cotton, dye; H 17.4 x D 13.8 cm; 3167-16

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