Scope and Contents: This five-box collection contains recordings, transcriptions/translations of recordings, and research files generated by the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s (SHI) between 2005 and 2008 through its efforts to document the history of Tlingit clan migrations, activities funded in part by Sealaska Heritage Institute and National Park Service Historic Preservation Program grants.
The interviews for this grant were primarily conducted by Clarence Jackson Sr. in the Tlingit language on a variety of topics, including the preparation of traditional foods, traditional culture, regalia, meaning of clan and personal Tlingit names, but an emphasis was on the history of clans and clan migrations. Transcriptions, with an English translation, were created for some of these recordings. This content of this collection is rich on Tlingit culture, history, and language. The bulk of these recordings are in the Tlingit language, though the transcribed recordings also contain English language translations.
Box 1 in this collection contains the recordings of these interviews. Multiple copies exist of each recording on CD and DVD (for audio and audiovisual content), which have been listed in an item-by-item inventory. Box 2 in the collection contains transcriptions translations for interviews with some of the individuals interviewed for this project. Boxes 3-5 contain binders with working files on specific clans for their migratory history. Some transcriptions are available in these binders.