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The relationship of Haida to Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit is reevaluated, drawing on improved Haida data that have become available in recent decades. Tentative cognates are identified, and proposals are made as to sound changes, as well as changes in morphology and syntax, which may have taken place in the prehistory of Haida and differentiated it from the rest of Na-Dene. The problem of loans between Haida and its neighbors, especially Tlingit, is discussed, and likely loanwords listed.

Utilizing archival as well as ethnographic field data, this essay traces the history of the Tlingit women's conversion to Russian Orthodox Christianity. Their initial limited exposure to Orthodoxy, which occurred during the Russian-American Company era and was structured by larger trading, military, and socioeconomic relationships between the Russians and the Tlingit, is contrasted with their massive conversion to Orthodoxy in the 1880s, two decades after the purchase of Alaska by the United States. While examining the various political, social, and religious aspects of that conversion, the essay also explores the native women's own interpretations of Orthodoxy, which has remained the favorite denomination of the more culturally conservative segment of the Tlingit community throughout the twentieth century.

The Tlingit Women, who were traded to Euroamericans for attractive merchandise in the 18th century, emerged as dominant members of society in the 19th century due to Euroamerican influence. The Tlingits were divided into the aristocrats and the slaves, but the women of both the classes had to conform to male demands. The American influence and education radically transformed the status and attitude of the Tlingit women, who became self-reliant and turned against the intolerant men of their society.

This article examines Indian languages and spirituality and the impact colonization has had on them. The author, focusing on the Tlingit people of Alaska, maintains Indian language was deeply tied with spirituality and absorbed the nuances of their religious beliefs and argues white colonizers devalued and destroyed the Indian languages, and by extension, their traditional beliefs.

The Tlingits of southeast Alaska first developed social clans, then village governments called 'kwaan,' and since 1971 have attempted to follow state guidelines for legal existence as for-profit corporations. Despite increasing complexity, clan and house group affiliation remain significant elements of Tlingit culture although the political system needs reform to avoid becoming involuted.

The Alaskan Tlingit clan wants its collection of tribal artifacts back from the University of Pennsylvania and it's threatening to sue to get it. The school bought the collection of [...]

Author(s): Stephen Williams [1] Sir Your News report about the law covering repatriation of Native American items in California (Nature 414, 139; 2001) was even-handed and correct -- it can [...]