Origin, Migration Story of the Tlingit Kaagwaantaan Clan

Tlingit Elder David Kanosh tells the origin and migration story of the Tlingit Kaagwaantaan in true Tlingit oratory. His storytelling and the responses from other clans and elders showcases the beauty of Tlingit culture. The Tlingit are divided between Eagle and Raven moieties, and it is most proper to hire someone from the opposite moiety to tell a clan story. However, the best individual of the opposite moiety to tell the story is a Child or Grandchild of a clan. The Eagle Kaagwaantaan from G̱ooch Hít (Wolf House), Ḵóok Hít (Box House), Déix̱ X̱’awool Hít (Two Door House), Kéet Hít (Killer Whale House) came together as one clan and retained David Kanosh, who is Raven of the Deisheetaan clan and a Child and Grandchild of Kaagwaantaan, to tell the Kaagwaantaan migration stories. When he concluded the story, the Kaagwaantaan from the Kéet Hít and the G̱ooch Hít each paid David. The Ravens represented by the T’akdeintaan and the Deisheetaan clans then acknowledged and thanked the Kaagwaantaan for sharing their stories. Nels Lawson, Kaagwaantaan of the Kéet Hít in Klukwan, said the clan decided to hire Kanosh to share the stories in public so that they would continue to live on. “We realized that our history was not being carried on to our children and our grandchildren and the generations yet to come,” he said. “This for our children and our grandchildren.” Kanosh, who said he grew up hearing the stories of the Kaagwaantaan, told several linked narratives over the course of the hour, beginning with the migration story that described a time when changing climate conditions forced the clan to leave Lingít Aaní. They traveled south to a land with huge trees, marking their way behind them for those that had stayed back to care for elders who couldn’t make the journey. Kanosh described their eventual return to their homeland after many generations and the communities where they settled. He also discussed several clan names and house names, linking them to the oral narratives from which they originated. This lecture is one of a series SHI produced for Native American Heritage Month. Learn more about SHI at http://www.sealaskaheritage.org/