The Tlingit are an Alaska Native people whose aboriginal homelands stretched along the Pacific coast for more than 400 miles. The Tlingit were 18 distinct and autonomous groups. Each group felt that it was distinct from the others and had its own unique origins and ancestry. Like other Northwest Coast First Nations, Tlingit society was traditionally characterized by social stratification, that is, there was a hierarchy of social classes.
Northwest Coast social stratification is summed up by anthropologist Edward Malin in his book Northwest Coast Indian Painting: House Fronts and Interior Screens:
“People were not equal and seem never to have sought to be. Each person was recognized as holding a particular graded position involving rank and power.”
In his chapter on rank, wealth, and status in Northwest Coast societies in Indians of the North Pacific Coast: Studies in Selected Topics, Philip Drucker puts it this way:
“Each individual had his place in the arbitrarily calibrated social structure of his community.”
In an article in The Indian Historian, Thomas Johnston reports:
“Tlingit life revolved around status, so that each person was assigned a particular rung of the social ladder.”
The Northwest Coast is also a region in which an entrenched and highly valued artistic tradition flourished. In her entry on the Tlingits in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Rosita Worl writes:
“Though their art has gained international renown, the Tlingits believe it embodies more than aesthetic qualities. For them its visual features—including clan crests—symbolize their social organization and depict their spiritual relationship to wildlife and the environment.”
Like other Northwest Coast art traditions, Tlingit art is renown for its carving—wood, bone, and other materials.
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) held a major exhibition, Raven and the Box of Daylight, featuring the work of Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary. Singletary works in the medium of glass and his works reflect the cultural heritage of Tlingit sculpture. According to MAC:
“Primarily known for his celebration of Tlingit art and design, Singletary explores new ways of working with glass inspired by Tlingit design principles. Tlingit objects were traditionally used to show wealth and tell stories by representing elements of the natural world, as well as the histories of individual families.”
According to MAC:
“Raven and the Box of Daylight is the Tlingit story of Raven and his transformation of the world—bringing light to people via the stars, moon, and sun. This story holds great significance for the Tlingit people. The exhibition features a dynamic combination of artwork, storytelling, and encounter, where the Tlingit story unfolds.”
Like other Northwest Coast art traditions, Tlingit art is renowned for its carving—wood, bone, and other materials and for incorporating its mythology into the art.
Yéil ka Keiwa.aa (Raven and the Box of Daylight) is an iconic Tlingit story about Raven (Yéil) bringing light to the world. Raven finds that Naas Shaak Aankáawu (Nobleman at the Head of the Nass River) has beautifully carved boxes that hold the light and that Naas Shaak Aankáawu du Séek’ (Daughter of the Nobleman at the Head of the Nass River) drinks from the Nass River each day.
Naas Shaak Aankáawu (Nobleman at the Head of the Nass River)
Made in 2018; Blown and sand-carved glass
Naas Shaak Aankáawu du Séek’ (Daughter of the Nobleman at the Head of the Nass River)
Made in 2016; Blown and sand-carved glass
Notice the labret or lip plug. Labrets were generally worn by upperclass women.
Anthropologist Leland Donald, in his chapter in Emerging from the Mist: Studies in Northwest Coast Culture History, explains:
“Labrets are ornaments that project through a hole or holes pierced through the skin just below the lower lip or, more occasionally, the corners of the mouth.”
At about the time of puberty, girls would have the initial hole made. Over time, the hole was filled with increasingly larger labrets until the hole was about four inches across.
Note: These photographs were taken on July 11, 2025.
More Raven and the Box of Daylight
Indians 101: The Animal People (museum exhibition)
Indians 101: Stars, Moon, and Daylight (museum exhibition)
Indians 101: Raven (photo diary)
Indians 101: The Winged People (museum exhibition)
Indians 101: The Water People (museum exhibition)
Indians 101: Baskets Inside the Clan House (museum exhibition)
Indians 101: Raven Along the Nass River (museum exhibition)
Indians 101: The Human People (museum exhibition)
