Touching Spirit Bear: Tlingit People

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, features Cecilia Kunz, a Native elder from the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska, who describes how stories are passed on among her people.

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, shows how students in Anchorage, Alaska, develop a song and dance to tell about a walrus hunt. Their goal in creating this dance is to connect with their Yup'ik and Iñupiaq cultures, help preserve the cultures for future generations, and express their joy in being part of those cultures. To share their dance with others, the students produce a music video of their work, excerpts of which appear in this video.

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, presents a telling of the Tlingit myth, "How Raven Gave Light to the World." The story is told by Shirley Kendall (Eagle Moiety), originally from the Alaskan village of Hoonah. It is illustrated with video of Native dancers and Alaskan scenery, as well as with images depicting Raven.

Tlingit live mainly along the coast of southeastern Alaska. The tribe once controlled all the land that extends more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) from west of Yakutat Bay to the British Columbia border south of present-day Ketchikan. The Tlingit divided the area into about 15 territories called quans (also spelled kwans). All Tlingit spoke related dialects of one language.