Language and Culture
The cultural oppression experienced through the demands of government schools, political pressures, and religious influences have definitely taken their toll on the community of Klukwan. In addition, many of the cultural artifacts of our ancestors were lost through deterioration, fires, or various other natural elements.
Theft and sales of cultural art works to art collectors was another source of loss until the Village Council passed an ordinance in the mid 1970s that prevented the sale or removal of artifacts from the village. Because parents were punished for speaking Tlingit and participating in cultural activities they avoided teaching those ways to their children, not wanting them to suffer as they did.
For that reason many of the cultural arts, language, and skills were nearly lost. Despite this bleak history, the community has taken some bold steps in the last fifteen years to preserve and revive many of the cultural arts and practices of our ancestors.
The art of Chilkat Weaving has been making a comeback in the village. Along with the weaving there has been a concerted effort to revive other art forms such as song and dance, carving, traditional construction skills, canoe making and subsistence lifestyle skills.
