Unit 7
The Tlingit and the Kwakwaka’wakw Peoples of the Northwest Coast

The Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States was home to a number of maritime cultures. Aboriginal peoples living along the Pacific Northwest Coast developed extraordinarily rich cultural traditions within stratified societies. Their subsistence technology was highly specialized and their artistic traditions have won acclaim worldwide. Moreover, their traditional life was embedded in a profound and complex spirituality. The focus of this unit is on two such groups: the Tlingit and the Kwakwaka’wakw.¹

Objectives

When you have completed Unit 7, you should be able to

1. describe the geographic and environmental characteristics of the Northwest Coast culture area.
2. identify the geographic locations of the cultural groups of the Northwest Coast.
3. describe the common cultural features of the Northwest coast societies.
4. compare Tlingit and Kwakwaka’wakw societies with regard to
   • economy (resources, technology, division of labour, seasonal mobility);
   • social organization (group membership, marriage rules, non-kin relations);
   • political systems (leadership, social control, warfare); and
   • ideological systems (rituals, beliefs, shamans, worldview).
5. describe the history of the potlatch (its cultural significance, the events that led to its suppression, and its reintroduction).
6. explain how the Kwakwaka’wakw ranking system related to the economy of the Northwest Coast region.
7. describe the impact of European contact on the Kwakwaka’wakw, including the role of middlemen adopted by the Kwagut.
8. outline the consequences of ANCSA among the Tlingit.
9. explain why Euro-Canadian authorities tried to suppress traditional forms of Kwakwaka’wakw marriage.
10. explain the differences in British and American policies towards the Indian Nations in the Pacific Northwest.

¹The Kwakwaka’wakw peoples are also called Kwakiutl.