Title
The Art of Tlingit Warfare: Armor, Weapons, and the Russian Wars

Description
In the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska were known as cunning warriors whose sophisticated military tactics and battle gear instilled fear in their opponents. Internecine warfare was common on the northern Northwest Coast, but raids on other tribes in the area produced wealth that endowed honor and prestige on the Tlingit chiefs and their clans. When the Russians arrived in Tlingit territory, they too experienced the fierceness of the Tlingit warriors as they sought to defend their honor, land, and resources. This presentation will discuss the superior craftsmanship of Tlingit helmets, armor, and weapons, as well as the Tlingit/Russian wars of 1802 and 1804.

Speaker
Ashley Verplank McClelland is a PhD candidate in Art History at the UW School of Art + Art History + Design