Under Mount Saint Elias: The History and Culture of the Yakutat Tlingit: Part Three

Abstract

The field data on which this report is based were gathered at Yakutat in 1949, 1952, 1953, and 1954. On my first exploratory visit, June 8 to July 13, 1949, several old village sites and a number of well-informed, friendly natives gave promise that combined archeological and ethnological investigations would be fruitful. Furthermore, I learned that there were two persons in the community who could speak Eyak, a language which I had feared was extinct.In the summer of 1952 (June 6 to September 13), I returned to Yakutat with a larger party. The following summer, Riddell returned to continue the archeological work. In the winter and spring of 1954 (February 13 to June 16), I was able to resume ethnological work at Yakutat.