Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/18984 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation. Author: Kampen, Ukjese van Title: History of Yukon first nations art Date: 2012-05-23
The History of Yukon First Nations Art
The History of Yukon First Nations Art PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op woensdag 23 mei 2012 klokke 15.00 uur door Ukjese van Kampen geboren te Whitehorse, Canada, in 1959
Promotiecommissie Promotores: Prof. Dr. M.E.R.G.N. Jansen Prof. Dr. W.F.H. Adelaar Overige leden: Mw Prof. Dr. C.L. Hofman Prof. Dr. W.J.L.M. van Damme Mw. Dr. E.B. Carlin Dr. P. Hovens (Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden)
Table of Contents Table of Contents Page 1 Acknowledgements Page 5 Introduction Page 7 The Question Page 7 Personal Comments about the Research Page 7 Start of a Personal Quest Page 10 Yukon First Nations actions that lead to a lack of present day Visual Culture Page 11 Western Society s forces that lead to a lack of present day Yukon First Nations Visual Culture Page 14 Notes on Collections and Collectors Page 24 Confusing Identifications Page 26 What is Yukon First Nations Art? Page 29 Chapter One- Cultural & Environmental Background, Art Periods and Comparative Art Styles Page 33 Brief Background of Yukon First Nations World Page 33 Relationships with Animals Page 41 Languages, Environment & Inland Tlingits Page 44 Art Periods Page 45 Geometric Period Page 45 The Beaded Period Page 46 The Current Period Page 47 Brief Explanation of Yukon First Nations Images Page 48 A Comparison between Coastal Tlingit Art and Yukon First Nations Art Page 49 Comparison between Inland Tlingit and Coastal Tlingit Art Page 50 Chapter Two-Geometric & Decorative Arts Page 53 Geometric Period Page 53 Repeating cone, dot & chevron motifs Page 54 Zigzag motifs Page 55 Cross hatching & Complex patterns Page 58 Four Directions/Crosses Page 61 Dot within a circle (Big Headed Starman motif) motif Page 66 Bone Knives Page 68 Baskets Page 71 Spruce Root Baskets Page 71 Birch Bark Baskets Page 73 Babiche & Other Hunting Bags Page 76 Dentalia Page 78 Painting Page 81 Red ochre Page 81 Charcoal Page 82 1
Items Painted Page 83 Closing Comments Page 84 Chapter Three-Hide Clothing to Dance Shirts Page 85 Tunic Breastbands Page 85 Tanaina Breastband Designs Page 88 Gwich in Breastband Designs Page 90 Han & Northern Tutchone Page 95 Southern Yukon Style Page 97 Fancy Tunics Page 104 The Last Athapaskan Tunic in use Page 107 Gopher Coats & Rabbit Skin Clothing Page 108 Changing Styles Page 111 Pull-over Jackets and shirts Page 112 Chief s Coats & Jackets Page 116 Button Coats Page 119 Dance Shirts Page 121 Closing Comments Page 130 Chapter Four-Beaded & Floral Designs Page 131 Beaded Period Page 131 Gwich in Bead designs Page 135 Upper Yukon River Floral Style Page 141 Han bead designs Page 145 Northern Tutchone Bead Designs Page 148 Kaska Bead Designs Page 149 Mountain Dene Style Page 152 Southern Tutchone Bead Styles Page 154 Tagish Bead Designs Page 158 Inland Tlingit Bead Designs Page 162 Tahltan Bead Designs Page 167 Closing Comments Page 170 Chapter Five-Figurative Art Page 171 Introduction Page 171 Stylized human-figure pendants Page 172 Big Headed Star Man motif Page 174 Stick Figures Page 178 Outlined Figures Page 191 Silhouette Figures Page 199 Carved Images Page 206 Beaded & Button Figurative Designs Page 219 Water Animals Page 221 Beaded bird designs Page 226 Moose & Caribou Page 233 Wolves Page 236 Figurative Art: Comparing Athapaskan with Inland Tlingit Page 238 Closing Comments Page 238 2
Chapter Six-Ritual, Shaman Art & Story Related Art Page 239 Introduction Page 239 Puberty drinking tubes Page 239 Pipes Page 243 Shaman s Items Page 247 Shaman Items: Bone/Antler Arm Bands Page 248 Shaman Items: Pendants Page 252 Shaman Items: Drums Page 255 Shaman Items: Dolls Page 258 Shaman Items: Magic War Stones Page 263 Shaman Items: Masks Page 264 Story Related Art-Kitty Smith s Carvings Page 266 Closing Comments Page 272 Chapter Seven-Art of the Hunt & War Page 273 Introduction Page 273 Brief overview of Yukon First Nations method of warfare Page 273 Daggers Page 276 Metal Daggers Page 276 Bone Daggers Page 285 Arrow, Dart & Spear points Page 286 Oldest Example of Yukon First Nations Art Page 287 Arrow & Atlatl Points Page 288 War Clubs Page 294 Hunt and Warfare Scenes Page 295 Hunting Scenes on Arrow Quivers Page 298 Additional Comments Page 305 Chapter Eight-Art of the Potlatch & Death Page 307 Background to Potlatches Page 307 Drums Page 310 Ganhooks Page 316 Rattles Page 335 Gopher skin robes to button blankets Page 337 Face Painting and Tattooing Page 347 Masks Page 351 Headdresses Page 360 Feather Plumes & Wanes Page 364 Grave Art Page 367 Closing Comments Page 374 Chapter Nine-Trade Art & Current Period Page 375 Trade Art Page 375 Current Period Page 378 Changing Bead Styles Page 379 First Half of the Current Art Period: Move towards Realism Page 386 Pan-Indianism Page 391 Second Half of the Current Period: Adopting Northwest Coast Indian Art Page 392 3
Current Artistic Issues Page 398 Language Page 399 Art/Visual Culture Page 400 Religion/Spirituality Page 400 Living off the Land/Traditional Lifestyle Page 400 Acceptance of the Status Quo/ Unconscious expectations Page 400 Economic development as the golden rule Page 401 Final Comments Page 402 Bibliography Page 404 Abbreviations Page 409 Summary Page 410 Nederlandse samenvatting (Dutch summary) Page 411 Propositions (Stellingen) Page 412 Curriculum Vitae Page 413 4
All photographs and illustrations were created by Ukjese van Kampen unless otherwise noted. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervising professors, Dr. Adelaar and Dr. Jansen, for their support of my subject and open mindedness about my research approach. I have visited over forty museums over the course of my research into the history of Yukon First Nations art and I would like to thank them for allowing access to their collections and for the help they provided. Below are the museums I visited. The list is in no particular order and includes some cultural organizations that I received help from. In the Yukon: MacBride Museum, Old Log Church Museum, Yukon Archives, Yukon Archaeology and Museums from Cultural Services, Dawson City Museum, Kluane Museum of Natural History, Mayo Historical Society, Atlin Historical Society, Klukshu Museum, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and the Council for Yukon First Nations. In Alaska: the University of Alaska Museum of the North, the Anchorage City Museum, the Alaska State Museum, the Sheldon Jackson Museum, The National Park Service, The Sheldon Museum, and the Alaska Native Heritage Center. In Canada: Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Glenbow Museum and Vancouver Museum, The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Manitoba Museum. In the United States: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, the Burke Museum, The Field Museum of Natural History, The Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, the Peabody Museum, National Museum of Natural History & National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, In Europe: Ethnologisches Museum Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum fur Volkerkunde Hamburg, Museum Weltkulturen der Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen in Mannheim, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde München, Linden-Museum Stuttgart, and Museum der Weltkulturen in Frankfurt, all in Germany. The British Museum in London and the Pitt River Museum in Oxford, United Kingdom, Nàprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures in Prague, Musée d Ethnographie de Geneva (MEG) in Geneva, National Museum of Denmark, Ethnographic Collections in Copenhagen, Departamento de Etnología Museo de América in Madrid, National Museum of Finland in Helsinki, Musée du quai Branly in Paris; Peter the Great Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, Museum für Völkerkunde in Vienna, Department of Ethnography at the University Museum Cultural History of Oslo, Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden, Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm, I would like to thank the staff of these museums for allowing me to examine, photograph and/or use the photographs of their collections for the creation of this dissertation. I would also like to thank them for their support in my research, even if there ended up being no artifacts that I used from their museums. 5
Over the course of my research there have been a great number of people I have talked to and have offered their help. Since I started my research some of the people have passed away, and with them an irreplaceable amount of knowledge about my culture. I am so grateful that they were willing to impart some of that knowledge. Following are the people I offer my thanks to. The locations refer to the place I talked to them, which may not be their home communities: In Whitehorse: Annie Ned, May Long, Emma Shorty, Norma Shorty, Irene Smith, Annie and Johnny Smith, Dinah Jim, Ingrid Johnson, Dave Neufeld, Rolf Hougen, Greg Hare, Ruth Gotthardt, Valery Monahan, Jim Robb, Keith Wolf-Smarch, Stan Peters, Diane Strand and Linda Harvey ; in Carmacks: Gary Sam; in Haines Junction: Marge Jackson and Mary Deguerre; in Klukshu: Frances Joe and Paul Birkel; in Ross River: Amos Dick, Ted Charlie, Kathlene Suza, and Norman Sterriah; in Upper Laird: Mida Donnessey and in Haines, Alaska, Irene Rowan. I would also like to offers my gratitude to my wife, Pam van Kampen, who was always willing to read my drafts and ask for explanations about the contents of this dissertation. This exposed those areas that were clear for me, but would have proven foggy for everybody else. I dedicate this thesis to my two daughters, Shadunjen (Sunchild-Southern Tutchone) and Yayata (Little Sky-Northern Tutchone) and hope they grow up in a world full of south-central Yukon First Nations artistic imagery. 6