Haa léelk'w hás ji.eetí, our grandparents' art: a study of master Tlingit artists, 1750-1989
Author
Jones, Zachary R.Chair
Heaton, JohnCommittee
Jonaitis, AldonaSchneider, William
Walz, Robin
Keyword
Tlingit artistsTlingit art
Southeast Alaska
Tlingit textile fabrics
Tlingit wood-carving
Tlingit sculpture
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This dissertation examines the lives and creations of twenty-three master Tlingit artists that practiced in Southeast Alaska between 1750 and 1989. Biographical examination of master Tlingit artists showcases how artists created sacred art objects, known as at.óow, which play a central role in the social and spiritual life of the Tlingit people. Historic Tlingit artists came from the aanyádi, the aristocratic class, and were tasked with the responsibility of not only creating sacred art, but also serving as community leaders and exemplifying Tlingit values throughout their lives. The study of Tlingit artists and their creations also sheds light on objects omitted by previous scholars, highlights the overlooked work of female artists, and challenges outdated approaches to the study of Northwest Coast Indian art.Description
Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2018Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction: The Importance of Studying Tlingit Artists. Chapter 2: Art with a Spirit: Tlingit At.óow -- The Tlingit People -- Tlingit At.óow -- Conclusion. Chapter 3: Writing with Thread: Tlingit Chilkat Weavers -- Overview and Context of Chilkat Weaving -- Raven Clan Weavers -- Clara Newman Benson (Deinkhul.át), Ghaanaxhteidí Clan -- Kháaxh'eidei.át, Ghaanaxhteidí Clan -- Mary Williams (Kháakaltín), Ghaanaxhteidí Clan -- Florence D. Shotridge (Khaatkwaaxhsnéi), Lukaaxh.ádi Clan -- Mary Ebbets Hunt (Aneis, Anislaga), Ghaanaxh.ádi Clan -- Elizabeth Goenett, L'uknaxh.ádi Clan -- Maggie Kadanaha (Khoonookh), L'uknaxh.ádi Clan -- Eagle Clan Weavers -- Saantaas', Kaagwaantaan Clan -- Mary Willard (Akhlé), Kaagwaantaan Clan -- Jennie Paddy Warren (Khaa.ít), Kaagwaantaan Clan -- Alice Lee (Sheeditéex'), Kaagwaantaan Clan -- Annie Klaney (K'aanakéek Tláa), Kaagwaantaan Clan -- Jennie Thlunaut (Shax'saani Kéek'), Kaagwaantaan Clan -- Conclusion. Chapter 4: Shapes and Lines with Meaning: Tlingit Carvers and Painters -- Introduction and Overview -- Context for Understanding Tlingit Carvers and Painters -- Eagle Clan Carvers and Painters -- Naakushtáa, Dakhl'aweidí Clan -- Daniel Katzeek (Kéet Eesháank'í), Dakhl'aweidí Clan -- Augustus Bean (Kh'ałyaan Éesh, Keitxút'ch), Kaagwaantaan Clan -- Daayakoogéit, Chookaneidí Clan -- Kux'laa, Chookaneidí Clan -- William James Ukas (Yeeka.aas), Naanyaa.aayí Clan -- Raven Clan Carvers and Painters -- Jim Jacobs (Yéilnaawú, Kíchxhaak), Khoosk'eidí Clan -- Ned James (Sdagwáan), L'uknaxh.ádi Clan -- Rudolph Walton (Kaawóotk', Aak'wtaatseen), Kiks.ádi Clan -- Dick Yéilnaawú (Yéilnaawú, Tleix'yaanagút), Deisheetaan Clan -- Conclusion. Chapter 5: Conclusion: True Human Beings; Artists that Empower and Stand as Leaders Tlingit Artists Today -- Selected Bibliography -- Appendices.Date
2018-12Type
DissertationRelated items
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LingitX Haa Sateeyi, We Who Are Tlingit: Contemporary Tlingit Identity And The Ancestral Relationship To The LandscapeMartindale, Vivian F.; Barnhardt, Ray (2008)Divergent views on the Tlingit ancestral relationship to the landscape of Southeast Alaska often leads to conflicts between Western-orientated government agencies, public entities, and the Tlingit people themselves. To better understand this subject, I collected nine personal narratives from research participants from within the Tlingit nation. The narratives provide insight into the dynamics at the intersection of conflicting worldviews, and the role this plays in shaping contemporary Tlingit identity. The results of exploring these diverging worldviews has illuminated three factors influencing contemporary Tlingit identity: the loss and struggle with maintaining the Lingit language, implementation of subsistence regulations and resultant conflicts, and diminishment of the ceremony called a koo.eex' (a memorial party). In addition, within the Tlingit worldviews there are oral histories, traditional values, and concepts such as balance, respect, and at.oow, which define ancestral relationships and identity. These findings also reveal that the means of imparting cultural knowledge and worldviews have changed. The narratives are organized into themes reflecting common factors: Residing in the ancestral landscape, Lingit language and thinking, the Tlingit artist and the ancestral relationship to the landscape, and contemporary Tlingit identity. The results demonstrate the significance of identity markers, such as the Lingit language, as a means for healing social trauma. Moreover, the lives of the Tlingit artists illustrate that maintaining an ancestral relationship utilizes both traditional and contemporary methods. In addition, the narratives provide documentation concerning the changes in a subsistence lifestyle that affect the social lives of the Tlingit in contemporary society.
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Use of Tlingit art and identity by non-Tlingit people in Sitka, AlaskaKreiss-Tomkins, David; Anahita, Sine; Leonard, Beth; Mehner, Da-ka-xeen (2014-05)Tlingit culture, as with many Indigenous cultures that exist under colonial rule, is often described as being in danger of disappearing. Despite this, the appropriation of and subsequent use of cultural practices by non-Tlingit people, and especially white people, is a continuation of the process of colonization when it is enacted in a manner that is not critical of current and historical racism, capitalist pressures and colonial violence. This project addresses the topic through recorded conversations with seven Tlingit women in Sitka, Alaska in an attempt to place Tlingit cultural production and use in the broader contexts of Indigenous cultural sovereignty and resistance to US imperial power. While various types and extremes of cultural appropriation are examined and compared to theory examining privilege and oppression, this project does not delineate general rules for appropriate and inappropriate use of culture.
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575 Tlingit verbs: a study of Tlingit verb paradigmsEggleston, Keri M. (2013-05)The Tlingit language, indigenous to Southeast Alaska and neighboring parts of British Columbia and the Yukon territory, is related to the Athabascan languages and the recently extinct language Eyak. Like Athabascan and Eyak, Tlingit verbal morphology is highly complex. The conjugation of Tlingit verbs is unpredictable in certain respects, making the documentation of verb forms from native speakers critical, due to the highly endangered state of the language, and because this has never before been documented for Tlingit. The objectives of the research presented here are twofold: 1) to document complete paradigms for 575 verbs, and; 2) to create a reference for second language learners and teachers of Tlingit. For each of the verbs included in the research, twelve modes were systematically documented through consultation with a group of native speakers. The newly documented forms were compiled into a database using Toolbox software and additionally organized into a user-friendly online database, hosted on the Goldbelt Heritage Foundation website. Based on the documented forms, descriptions of each of the twelve modes were written, with second language students and teachers as the target audience. The descriptions of each mode include information pertaining to the semantics, morphology, and verb stem variation, and are intended to assist second language learners in mastering the difficult task of conjugating Tlingit verbs. Another critical item included for each verb entry is the verb theme, which illustrates all of its component parts including thematic prefix, conjugation prefix, classifier, and stem. The accompanying detailed description of each element of the verb theme serves as a grammatical sketch of the Tlingit verb for language learners. An additional result of the research is a set of nine prefix combination charts. Because the Tlingit verb has many prefix positions, there are a number of regular contractions that take place in conjugating a verb. The prefix combination charts illustrate the regular contractions that take place between the thematic prefixes, conjugation prefixes, aspect prefixes, subject prefixes, and classifiers, to name a few. These charts show language learners how to switch between subject prefixes for a given verb.