Sealaska Heritage Institute
SHI ALASKA'S ARCHIVE GUIDES.
ALASKA'S LEADING SCHOLARS OF TLINGIT LANGUAGE AND LEARNING
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has won a federal grant to process and make available large archives left by the late scholars Richard Xwaayeenak and Nora Keixwnei Dauenhauer, who played a critical role in documenting Tlingit oral traditions and producing the Tlingit language materials students use today.
The $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) allows SHI to process the entire Dauenhauer Literary Estate, which was donated to the institute in 2020. The collection includes more than 74 linear feet of documents, X boxes of journals, 16 boxes of media, and 3 boxes of books, which will be processed over two years and made available to the public.
Approximately 2,700 documents from the collection will be digitized and put online under the scope of the grant.
Our grant number is NAE-246618-OLS-20.
Her Tlingit name was Ḵeixwnéi. She belonged to the Lukaax̱.ádi (Sockeye Salmon) clan and was appointed as the ceremonial matriarch, or Naa Tláa (Clan Mother), in 2010.
- Born (1927) in Juneau, Alaska, raised in Juneau and Hoonah and lived on the family fishing boat.
- The 1970s: She attended the Alaska Methodist University and in 1973 married Richard Dauenhauer.
- 1983 to 1997: She was a Principal Researcher at Sealaska Heritage Foundation in Juneau.
- 1997-2017: She became a semi-retired, consultant, school volunteer, freelance writer, and community work until her death on September 25, 2017.
His Tlingit name was X̱waayeenáḵ. He was adopted into the Brown Bear House of the Chookaneidí clan of Hoonah. His life’s work was advocating for the Tlingit language and oral literature preserving for the Tlingit people.
- Born in 1942 and raised in Syracuse, NY.
- 1969-1975: He taught at Alaska Methodist University.
- 1983 to March 1997: He was Director of Language and Cultural Studies at SHI.
- 2002-2003, 2005-2011 He taught at University of Alaska campuses and trained many others to teach and translate Tlingit.
- 1997-2014: he became a freelance writer, researcher, and consultant until his death on August 19, 2014.
Archival Resource Guides: Unlocking the Wealth of Historical Collections
Southeast Alaskan Languages
Tlingit is an American Indian language of Southeast Alaska and adjacent portions of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. It is classified linguistically as part of the Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit language family because it shows clear similarities in grammatical structure to the Eyak and Athabaskan languages. The Tlingit language itself is unique in four sounds that seem to be found in no other language on our planet.
The Dauenhauers translated stories, songs, and oratory from Tlingit to the English language. Also captured Tlingit ceremonies, protocols, and interviews on audio, video, and reel-to-reel tapes.
Fluent Tlingit speakers, the Dauenhauers made countless contributions to studying and preserving the language and oral tradition.
Published in 1991 with audio cassettes tapes. Basic textbook of Tlingit language. Designed to provide set of instructions for teaching Tlingit as second language for non-speakers, give suggestions and directions for those who speak Tlingit and want to teach the language, and explain some of the grammar to provide insight into how it works. Includes 9 lessons for oral teaching or adult self-study.
Published in 2000 with CDs.
In Tlingit and English 4th edition, 1999.
“A production of Tlingit Readers, Inc. … and Sealaska Heritage Foundation.”
“A cassette audio tape produced by Tlingit Readers, Inc. and Sealaska Heritage Foundation is also being published by Sealaska Heritage Foundation … to accompany the Third Edition of the Spelling Book”.
This book takes a humorous approach to teaching tricky sounds; the book’s second subtitle is Fun with Phonology, Fonology with Phun. Tlingit is famous for having one of the most difficult and complex sound systems in the world. Tlingit presents about two dozen sounds not shared with English.
This is your practical companion in making the language a living part of your life. Browse through this phrase book and identify situations in which you could use a Tlingit phrase with someone else in a meaningful context.
Material from the first session of the first Sealaska Elders Conference held in May 1980 and sponsored by Sealaska Corporation.
Editor for v. 1 : Nora Marks Florendo.
This one-box collection contains eight original cassette tapes and ten CDs containing recordings of KTOO-FM’s Conversations in Tlingit program. Some of the CDs and cassettes are duplicates of each other, but overall, the recordings date to 1995-1996, 1998 and 2000-2001. The recordings have been organized by format and then chronologically.
This collection contains approximately 500 audio recordings, dubbed onto CDs, all of which were collected or created by the Dauenhauers while working on their various Tlingit research projects and books. These recordings date from 1899 to 1999, contain speaking in English and Tlingit, and document a host of topics concerning the Tlingit people, history, culture, subsistence, land issues, and other. This collection contains approximately 500 audio recordings, dubbed onto CDs, all of which were collected or created by the Dauenhauers while working on their various Tlingit research projects and books. These recordings date from 1899 to 1999, contain speaking in English and Tlingit, and document a host of topics concerning the Tlingit people, history, culture, subsistence, land issues, and other.
Sealaska Heritage Institute Education Resources
- They provided curriculum, workshops, and training for teachers especially the Tlingit Immersion Programs in the Southeast Alaskan School Districts and the University of Alaska-Southeast campus.
- They supported college students pursuing PhDs in linguistics and other fields to continue the legacy of teaching and revitalizing the Tlingit language.
- They were well renowned throughout the Tlingit community by elders, children, youth, and adults through outreach programs on the Tlingit language and culture.
Pilot Test Edition (check inventory).
By the students of Hoonah High School, under the direction of Katherine Mills.
Features bilingual Tlingit and English math word-problems using Tlingit cultural examples. Also explains the traditional Tlingit counting system in base 20, rather than decimal. First published in 1973 by Tlingit Readers, Inc. 2nd edition, revised, edited by Jackie Kookesh, Nora Marks Dauenhauer, and Richard Dauenhauer, 1997, published through collaboration of AFN, RSI, SHF, and NSF. Tlingit Literaetj Session. By Jeff Leer. Spelling book for February 6-8, 1996, literacy training in Whitehorse, Yukon. ANLC / YNLC 1996. 38 pages
Southeast Alaskan Cultural Resources
By conducting lectures, poetry and oral literature readings, and keynote addresses. And by showing slides and video tapes about Tlingit culture and its historical context.
The following list of material access in Proficio-Collection Number MS052:
- Protocol
- Stories
- Songs
- History
Creative Writing Resources
They have written essays, papers, and keynote addresses for conferences, cultural events, and international publications. Co-authored and co-edited several editions of bilingual books. Published articles for professional journals and anthologies. Developed plays for theatre and scripts for radio, film, and documentaries about Tlingit culture.
Nora wrote plays for theatre based on classical Tlingit Raven stories, such as:
- Raven loses his nose: adapted from a traditional Native story
- White Raven and Water
- Raven, King Salmon, and the Birds
Performed at Naa Kahidi Theater, the Kennedy Center, Museum of American Indian, Fitzgerald Theatre, and the University of New Mexico.
In English with some poems by other authors translated into Tlingit.
“Life Woven with Song recreates in written language the oral tradition of the Tlingit people as it records memories of Nora Dauenhauer’s heritage – of older relatives and Tlingit elders, of trolling for salmon and preparing food in the dryfish camps, of making a living by working in canneries.” “Then in a section of short, lyrical poems she offers crystalline tributes to her land and people.” “In a concluding selection of plays, Dauenhauer presents three Raven stories that were adapted as stage plays from oral version told in Tlingit by three storytellers of her community.”
Three-part poem about life in southeast Alaska.
Russian, German, Tlingit. Like the languages he translates, Richard Dauenhauer’s poetry offers unexpected surprises. The poems play with language while focusing on the land and people of Alaska. And like Alaska itself, this book offers a variety of delights—readers will find a new experience with each turn.
The Riddle and Poetry Handbook contains ideas for using, the oral traditions of Alaska as models for creative writing of poetry in Alaskan schools.
This PhD dissertation by Richard Dauenhauer is a study of the relationship of text and context in Tlingit oral tradition, and it demonstrates the congruence of Tlingit oral literary structure and social structure. Dauenhauer analyzes three forms of oral literature – prose narrative, song, and oratory – using a combination of three critical approaches: the functional; the oral-formulaic; and the structural. The implications of this study are of both practical and theoretical significance. On the practical side Dauenhauer’s research indicates that we cannot appreciate Tlingit oral tradition without first fully understanding the social structure of the people. The theoretical implications of the study verify the hypotheses of earlier researchers in oral tradition and anthropology and demonstrate the applicability of combining various critical approaches.
On the secular front, resistance to the meaningful (non-trivialized) inclusion of Alaska Native language, literature, and culture in the school curriculum remains strong in many districts. Ongoing patterns of discrimination and exclusion in one large district in Southeast Alaska recently prompted the U.S. Office for Civil Rights to take action. –From the Preface
Tlingit Readers, Inc.
A non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Alaska. Its purpose is to produce materials in and for the Tlingit language. Founded by the General Editor is Andrew Hope III in 1973. Then in 1975, Nora Dauenhauer became the President and Richard Dauenhauer the agent. The following supported this thorough non-profit grant are Juneau A.N.B. Camp #2, The Alaska Native Language Center of the University of Alaska, Sheldon Jackson College, Alaska Methodist University, and the first board members who volunteered their time and energy are:
- Nora Dauenhauer
- Andrew Hope III
- Dick Dauenhauer
- Henry Davis
- Katherine Mills
Nora and Richard Dauenhauer managed this organization until 2014. Then in 2015, Linda Belarde, who was a board member, became the President and agent to the present.
FORTHCOMING READERS: Stories IN TLINGIT are forthcoming by the following storytellers: A.P. Johnson, J.B. Fawcett, George Davis, David Kadashan, Willie Marks, Emma Marks. Oratory readers will include revisions of the speeches from Reader I and new speeches. These will be published as time and money allow.
Features eleven classic stories by 13 elders.
Edited by Nora Marks Dauenhauer and Richard Dauenhauer, the book presents:
- Tlingit texts with facing English translations
- Illustrations
- Notes
- Biographies
- Bibliography
The first publication of Tlingit oratory recorded in performance.
The b
ook features:
- Tlingit texts with facing English translations
- Detailed annotations
- Photographs of the orators
- Biographies of the Elders
- Glossary
An introduction to Tlingit:
- histories of social and political culture
- biographies of more than 50 men and women
- founders of the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB)
The lives depicted in this volume show how individual Native people both shaped and were shaped by their time and place in history. Edited by Nora Marks Dauenhauer and Richard Dauenhauer.
In the 1980s the Kiks.adi elders asked the Dauenhauers to:
- Transcribe Tlingit stories into English by Nora Dauenhauer
- Translate Russian shipping logs, maps, and letters into English by Lydia Black and Richard Dauenhauer
- Compare publish recordings to eye-witness accounts by Russians.
This book focused on historic battles between the Russians and Tlingits from the 1790s through 1818, edited by Nora Marks Dauenhauer and Richard Dauenhauer.
This series is in English. The Title translates “(This is) Our Way of Life.”
Sitka Territory is an excerpt from a report entitled The Possessory Rights of the Natives of Southeast Alaska, dated October 3, 1946. Thank you to William Paul, Sr. Summarizing the Sitka land rights analysis and community development with cover design by Ken Lisbourne, 29 pp. $1.00. Out of Print.
Angoon Territory is an excerpt from The Goldschmidt-Hass Report on the Possessory Rights of the Natives of Southern Alaska, dated October 3, 1946. Thank you to William Paul, Sr. Summarizing the Angoon Territory rights analysis, community development, and government. An old photograph of unidentified Indian men, 19 pp. $1.00. Out of Print.
Kasaan Territory is an excerpt from The Goldschmidt-Hass Report on the Possessory Rights of the Natives of Southern Alaska, dated October 3, 1946. Thank you to William Paul, Sr. The Ghost of Courageous Adventurer is reprinted from Tlingit Sh-Kal neegee #2, April 1972 and the University of Pennsylvania Museum Journal. Summarizing the Kasaan Territory rights analysis, community development, and government. An old photograph of unidentified Indian men, 40 pp. $1.00. Out of Print.
Yakutat History by Olaf Abraham (X’agatkeen) transcribed and translated by Richard Dauenhauer with Nora Florendo and Jeff Leer. Unknown cover artist, 22 pp. $1.00 Out of Print.
The Bride of Tongass: A study of the Tlingit Marriage Ceremony by Louis Shotridge, a reprint article from the University of Pennsylvania Museum Journal, Vol. 20, No. 2, June 1929. The cover design by Robert Davis of a Tired Wolf, 23 pp. $1.00 Out of Print
Ed. by Nora Dauenhauer. A literacy sampler including history, oratory, poetry, dictionary, religious materials, and a key to the writing system. IN TLINGIT 64 pp. April 1972. Out of print.
Told by Frank Johnson (of Ketchikan); transcribed by Nora Dauenhauer. IN TLINGIT. (Southern Dialect); 4 color totem design by Horace Marks on yellow cover; includes key to alphabet; 28 pp, March 1973. $2.00
Told by Tom Peters (of Tesl!n, Y.T.,Yukon) transcribed by Nora Dauenbauer In.TLINGIT; three color totem design by R. Dauenhauer on gold cover; includes key to alpha bet; 32 pp. May 1973; $2.00.
Told by Robert Zuboff(of Angoon); transcribed by Henry Davis and students at Sheldon Jackson College; in Tlingit; includes a song with music transcription; four color totem design by Robert Davis on white cover; 18 pp. June 1973; $1.25
By the students of Hoonah High School, under the direction of Katherine Mills.
Features bilingual Tlingit and English math word-problems using Tlingit cultural examples. Also explains the traditional Tlingit counting system in base 20, rather than decimal. First published in 1973 by Tlingit Readers, Inc. 2nd edition, revised, edited by Jackie Kookesh, Nora Marks Dauenhauer, and Richard Dauenhauer, 1997, published through collaboration of AFN, RSI, SHF, and NSF. Tlingit Literaetj Session. By Jeff Leer. Spelling book for February 6-8, 1996, literacy training in Whitehorse, Yukon. ANLC / YNLC 1996. 38 pages
Told by Susie James (of Sitka); transcribed by Nora Dauenhauer; in Tlingit, four color totem design by John Marks on tan cover; 28 pp. August 1973; $2.00.
Told by Robert Zuboff (of Angoon); transcribed by R. Dauenhauer; in Tlingit; black totem design on red cover; 16 pp. August 1973; $1.25.
Additional Resources
By Henry and Claribel Davis; in English; the Tlingit legend of the killer whale; color illustrations throughout text; three color killer whale crest design on cover; 16pp; August 1973, $1.50. Written for younger children, illustrations are designed to introduce Tlingit words.
By Henry and Claribel Davis; a teaching unit to accompany the legend of the killer whale; three color killer whale design on cover; 23pp. includes a bibliography; June 1973; $2.00. Nine lessons including four Tlingit language lessons, which introduce some Tlingit nouns and sentence pattern drills. Keet is the first in a ·series of elementary Tlingit legends, culture, basic crest designs, as well as some simple Tlingit vocabulary.
Ed. by R. Dauenhauer, A one-step-at-a-time approach to spelling for Native Speakers not for teaching language to non-speakers; Three color totem design by R. Davis on white cover. 35pp. July 1974, $2.00. Tape recordings are planned to accompany the book but are not yet available. This book is a brief introduction. More detailed literacy readers are being prepared by J ff Leer and Constance Naish.
Ed.by A. Hope, A booklet of Tlingit crests and brief explanations of same. Jan. 1974, $2.00.
Ed. by Gillian Story and Constance 
Naish of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. (This is the book we’ve been waiting for:) Tlingit-English and English Tlingit; includes superb concise reference grammar; uses revised writing system (as do the Readers and the Lessons noted below); 392pp. ln press.
Ed. by R. Dauenhauer. Programmed introduce to the Tlingit language to aid students in using the Tlingit Readers with the help of the Dictionary. Format emphasizes substitution drills, and most lessons include reading excerpts from the Tlingit Readers. Designed for college and. high school levels but could be modified for. teachers of lower levels. Has been field tested, will be revised and published time and money allow.
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