ETHNOHISTORY 32(3): 196-223 KAN

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX BROTHERHOODS AMONG THE

TLINGIT: MISSIONARY GOALS AND NATIVE RESPONSE

Sergei Kan University of Miciiigan

Absiraci

In the 1890s-1900s, Russian Onhodox missionaries estabUshed religious brotherhoods

among the Tlingit Indians of southeastern Alaska to Fight indigenous customs in-
compatible with Christianity, and to promote abstinence and mutual aid. On the basis
of archival and ethnographic research, the study demonstrates the Tlingit success in
utilizing these organizations to strengthen their position within the church and, thereby
estahlish a more balanced relationship with the Russian deigy and parishioners, to
maintain the power and prestige of the aristocracy, and to indigenize Orthodoxy in
general. The analysis also suggests that, by joining the brotherhoods, the Tlingit managed
to present themselves to the Americans and the Russians as "civilized Indians,"
and thus were able to improve their standing within the larger sociopolitical system
they did not control.

Despite the important role played by Christianity in transforming native North

American cultures, until recently few ethnohistorians have examined this subject
in any detail. Berkhofer's (1965) pioneering work on the activities of Protestant
missionaries among the Indians, followed by a number of historical studies and
surveys of Indian missions (e.g.. Ronda and Axtell 1978; Axteli 1981; Bowden
1981), clearly demonstrated that the earlier view of missionization as an "exogenous
force unilaterally impinging upon passively recipient peoples" (Boutilier 1978:305)
had to be abandoned. In the last decade, several scholars have been concerned
in their analyses of missionization with "the specific, the contextual, the detailed
progress of social change in a historical framework" (McLoughlin 1984: 6; see
also Conkling 1974; Brenner 1980; Patterson 1982; Bragdon 1983; Brown 1982,
1983).
This growing body of ethnohistorical research shows that North American In-
dians have often reinterpreted Christian ideas, rituals, and institutions, and that
their approach to Christianity has been selective, creative, and synthesizing. Chris-
tianity, as a result, frequently became indigenized. Gualtieri (1980: 57) defines
indigenization as a process of cultural adaptation, in which the fundamental mean-
ings of a cultural system are retained, at least partially, but are expressed in the
symbolic forms of another, non-native culture.'Of course, exogenous ideologies
and social practices are rarely simply superimposed upon unchanging indigenous
sociocultural systems. Instead, in the course of contact baween Indians and Euro-
peans (including missionaries), indigenous systems themselves are transformed.
In many of the situations of dramatic sociocultural change, when Indian ways
of life and patterns of thought have been seriously threatened by the dominant
society, indigenized Christian rituals and institutions have mediated and interpreted
social change "in ways that were meaningful both in terms of adopted Christian
beliefs and symbols, and of traditional values" (Bragdon 1983: 1).
The process of missionization often involves a great deal of misunderstanding
and miscommunication between missionaries and natives. This is due to cultural
and linguistic barriers, the missionaries' ethnocentrism, and native "impression
management," frequently aimed at protecting the integrity of the indigenous social
 197 SERGEI KAN

lift, especially practices attacked by missionaries, while simultaneously taking ad-

vantage of the missionaries' material and spiritual assistance. The degree to which
natives succttd in their efforts depends heavily on tht balance of power betwttn
tht two groups, tht amount of changt missionaries wish to introduce into native
life, and the susceptibility of tht sptciflc Christian symbolic forms to bting reinter-
preted and indigtniztd.
This paper prestnts a detailed analysis of a successful attempt by the Tlingit
of southeastern Alaska to takt advantage of the church brothtrhoods established
in the late 1890s and the early 1900s by Russian Orthodox missionaries. While
the missionary goal was to Tight indigenous customs incompatible with Christianity,
and to promote abstinence and mutual aid, tht Tlingit utilized thtst organiza-
tions to strtngthtn their position within tht church and, thtrtby establish a more
balancedrelationshipwith tht Russian cltrgy and parishioners, to maintain the
powtr and prestigt of the aristocracy, and to indigtnize Orthodoxy in general.
At tht same time, by joining tht brotherhoods, the Tlingit managed to present
themstlves to non-natives (Russians and Americans) as '*civiliztd Indians," and
thus were able to improve thtir standing within the larger sociopolitical system
they did not control.
These brothtrhoods, and the broader issue of Tiingit Orthodoxy, have not betn
discussed in anthropological studits aimtd at reconstructing and inttrpreting Tlingit
culture history (de Laguna 1960,1972; Drucktr 1958; Tolltfson 1976,1978). This
omission reflects, in large part, the fact that most of the primary sources are
available only in Russian and have only recently been systematized and made
available to researchers.^ Much of the historical data for this study comes from
the Alaska Church Collection (Manuscript Division, Library of Congress),' in which
there is a variety of important documtnts, including offlcial missionary rtpons,
travel journals, lttttrs, and minutts of brothtrhood mtttings. Additional mattrial
was examined in tht parish archives of the Sitka and Juntau Orthodox churches
and in Orthodox periodicals, particularly the Russian Orthodox American
Messenger.
In addition to the documentary evidence, ethnographic data collected in
southeastern Alaska in 1979-1980 and 1984 havt bttn used. Many of tht tkltrly
Tlingit consultants inttrvitwtd wert tht children or other dost relatives of the
original brothtrhood mtmbtrs, and/or activtly participattd thtmseivts in these
nativt sodalities in tht l920s-1940s. Thdr testimony is of great value, since it of-
fers a different ptrsptctive on the events described by the missionaries. The
brotherhood activities remtmbtrtd most vividly and fondly by consultants wtrt
not necessarily those emphasized by the clergy. Ethnographic data also shed light
on many aspects of the latt nineteenth and the early twentieth-century Tlingit life
not described in missionary or government reports. This Ls particularly true with respect
to the persistence of indigenous ctremonial activities, values, btlitfs, and sodal
relations (see dt Laguna 1960,1972; Olson 1967; Emmons n.d.; Kan 1979-1984).
While the testimony of consultants has bttn txtremely important, documentary
evidence has been ustd to supplement or even to correct nativt testimony in casts
where the Tlingit did notrememberdetails, or when they preferred not ro dwell
on such events as conflicts betwttn individuals and kinship groups, or the salt
of clan regalia to non-nativts. Fartidpant observation of the religious life of several
Tlingit Orthodox congregations has also provided valuable insights into the native
Brotherhoods Among Tlingit 198

interpretation of Christianity and attitudes towards andrelationshipswith the non-

Tlingit clergy. I believe that the best results in ethnohistorical studies of this kind
can be achieved through a combination of historical research and ethnographic
fleldwork (cf. Fowler 1982: XVII).

Massive Tlingit Conversion to Ortiiodoxy

The Tlingit reaction to, and interpretation of. Orthodox brotherhoods can be prop-
erly understood only in the context of their massive conversion to Orthodoxy
that occurred in the late nineteenth centry. During the decade preceding the
establishment in 1896 of the first Indian Society of Temperance and Mutual Aid,
a large number of Tlingit living in Sitka, Juneau, Killisnoo, and several other
villages suddenly joined the Russian Church. To explain this significant new
development in the native social life, one must examine briefly the history of the
Tlingit relationship with Europeans, both prior to and after the Russian sale of
Alaska to the United States.*
The first Orthodox attempt to Christianize the Tlingit was made in 1834 by Fr.
Ivan Veniaminov in NovoarkhangePsk (Sitka), the capital of Russian America.
His proselytizing efforts among the Indians residing just outside the heavily-guarded
Russian palisade did not yield significant results until a devastating smallpox
epidemic in 1835-1837 demonstrated the inability of the native shamans to com-
bat the terrible new disease and displayed the impressive power of the Russian
priests, equipped with holy water as well as vaccine (Veniaminov 1886: 641-642).
Although on the eve of the Russian sale of Alaska the Orthodox Church had over
400 Tlingit members (about one half of Sitka's Indian population), most contem-
porary missionary and secular observers agreed that the majority of the Tlingits'
commitment to Orthodoxy was not strong (see e.g.. Bishop Pavel Popov's 1869
report, quoted in the Documents Relative to the History of Alaska, 1936-1938,
vol.1: 151; Fr. Nikolai Kovrigin, Journal of Missionary Activities, 1866, ACC,
D316; Doklad 1863: 115).
There were several reasons for the lack of success of the Orthodox missionary
efforts in southeastern Alaska. Unlike some other native Alaskan peoples, the
Tlingit had retained total political independence from the Russian-American Com-
pany. Their interest in trading with the Russian was stimulated by the recognition
of the superiority of some of the European tools, as well as by the traditional
TlingiL emphasis on the accumulation, display, and distribution of wealth as a
means of maintaining and raising status. At the same time, the Tlingit resisted
the Russian occupation of a portion of their ancestral territory, as well as attempts
to interfere in such native practices as warfare, slave sacrifices, and shamanism.
It seems unlikely that Christian ideas and practices were well understood by
the Tlingit. While Veniaminov (1886: 643-647) and his colleagues reported some
genuine interest in sermons and religious services, the lack of good interpreters
and the separation between Lhe two communities hindered Tlingit Christianiza-
tion.' There is, however, some evidence of the native willingness to take advan-
tage of the new sources of spiritLial power, adding it to their own arsenal of spirits,
magical practices, and potent substances (Zhukov quoted in Emmons n.d.; Kan
1979-1984). Political independence and limited contact with the Europeans alk)wed
the Tlingit to maintain their indigenous social structure and the core of the tradi-
 199 SERGEI KAN

tional cultural values. This meant that, in the "dialogue" with the Russian mis-
sionaries, the Tlingit were free to accepr or reject particular ideas or forms of ritual
action (cf. Axtell 1981: 82; Fisher 1977: 47-48).
After the majority of the Russians departed from southeastern Alaska in 1867,
Tlingit interest in Orthodoxy declined dramaticaly. In the 1860s and 1870s, Or-
thodox missionary activities almost came to a standstill, and the Tlingit were fre-
quently described as remaining strongly committed lo "heathen beliefs and
ceremonies" (Bishop Pavel Popov's 1869 report, quoted in the Documents Relative
io ihe History of Alaska, 1936-1938, vol.1: 151).
The American rule brought numerous trade items of better quality, and jobs
in mining, canneries, and lumbering, which the Tlingit were eager to perform lo
earn money. Much of the new wealth was channelled into the traditional system
of potlatching, reinforcing the indigenous social order and world view. At the same
time, some of the native "nouveaux riches," expecially the younger ones, began
accumulating wealrh for personal use and for their nuclear families. This was the
first step towards the weakening of kinship ties among lineage and clan relatives.
Anorher serious blow to rhe indigenous social order was the American poUtical
domination, which resulted in an encroachment on the Tlingit subsistence resources
and interference in their internal affairs.^
Civil and military authorities, particularly the Presbyterian missionaries who
came to Alaska in 1878, began a massive campaign against shamanism, witchcraft
trials, slavery, polygamy, and other "heathen" customs (Glass 1890; Hinckiey
1972,1982). The greatest threat to the traditional Tlingit culture and society came
from the missionary, and later the public schools, with their rule of obligatory
attendance. Although the native leaders seemed to be interested in having their
children learn the ways of the powerful newcomers (especially reading and writing),
they were unwilling to abandon many of the fundamental indigenous beliefs and
practices attacked by the American reformers (see a speech delivered by a Tlingit
chief from Wrangell, quoted in Lindsay [1881] 1965: 20).
The price paid by Tlingit youngsters for acquiring the new knowledge was high.
In the Presbyterian school, the use of the nadve language was forbidden, while
the students were persistently indoctrinated in Protestant-American values and
taught to despise thdr parents* way of life. Graduates were strongly encouraged
to intermarry, disregarding the rule of moiety exogamy, and to set up nuclear family
households in American-style cottages built by the mission away from the native
community and its "evil infiuence.**
These couples formed the core of the Presbyterian church organized in Sitka
in 1884. Some older unschooled natives from the village also joined, partly out
of curiosity, partly hoping to receive gifts and medical assistance.^ One of the
biggest attractions were Presbyterian hymns, quickly leamed by the Tlingit, who
had always been fond of singing. While Presbyterian sermons were not well
understood, this segment of the Tlingit population seemed to have a desire to benefit
from a new institution that was probably identified wirh American wealth and
power.
However, by the middle of the 1880s the nadve membership of the Sitka
Presbyterian Church had declined. The majority of the THngit resented the heavy
pressure exerted on them by the Protestant leadership, especially its efforts to
eradicate the potlatch. Simultaneously, the Indians began to see that membership
in the Presbyterian Church did not automatically prevent them from being
Brotherhoods Among Ttingit

discriminated against by the non-native population of Sitka, many of whom were

not churchgoers. Within the Presbyterian Church itself, there was some anti-native
sentiment, which led to the creation of a separate American congregation that
met at a different time, and eventually built its own church (The First Presbyterian
Chuch of Sitka, Archives, 1884-1935). Finally, in the 1880s and particularly the
1890s, Presbyterian missionaries became dosdy allied with the Sitka dvil
authorities, so that American abuses began to be identified with that church (see
Hinckley 1982: 139-142).
In sum, by the late 1880s the Tlingit of Sitka, and to a lesser extent of other
communities, were actively involved in the American economy, without abandoning
most of thdr traditional subsistence activities. At the same time, their sodal
organization and world view were only beginning to be influenced, with the ex-
ception of those members of the younger generation who had been exposed to
American education (cf. Drucker 1958: 11-12). The Tlingit in Sitka were living
in two distinct, and incompatible, sets of institutions within a single political
framework. They were anxious to be recognized and respected by the
Euroamericans, did not shy away from contacts with them, butresentedbdng
treated as inferior.
After 1867 the position of the Orthodox Church in Sitka, and of its Russian-
Creole' membership, was weak. On the one hand, the Russian Church lacked the
financial strength and manpower of the Presbyterians. On the other, some of the
local U.S. authorities regarded it as an alien and suspidous institution. Most of
its members were persons of mixed Russian-Aleut ancestry, whose status was higher
than that of the Tlingit but lower than that of the Americans. While many of the
Creoles disliked being classed with or just above the Indians, some of them, like
some of the more wdl-to-do Russian families, had ties with members of the Tlingit
community and mediated between the Americans and the Indians.' Both the Rus-
sian dergy and their Russian-Creole parishioners appealed several times to the
U.S. government and the Russian ambassador in Washington on behalf of the
Tlingit, defending them against abuses by the dvil authorities and Presbyterians. ^^
In its defense of the Alaskan natives, the Orthodox Church was obviously pro-
tecting its own interests as weil. Nevethdess, its ambivalence about the Americaniza-
tion of the Creoles and the Indians, and a somewhat greater tolerance towards
Indian customs, encouraged Tlingit conversion to Orthodoxy, particularly at the
time when the Presbyterian missionaries and the U.S. authorities were waging a
vigorous joint campaign against the "old customs." The breaking of a spatial
barrier between the Russian Church and the Tlingit community, and a variety of
other factors discussed bdow, contributed to a massive Tlingit conversion to Or-
thodoxy in the 1880s (see also Kan 1983a). By that time. Orthodoxy had become
more acceptable to the Indians, especially to the more conservative ones.
This sudden upsurge in the natives' conversion was also stimulated by an in-
crease in the Russian missionary efforts, begun in 1886, and the tireless work of
several missionary priests. Orthodox parish statistics speak for themsdves. In 1882,
there were only 117 Tlingit members in the Russian Church in Sitka (compared
to 230 Russian-Creole members); in 1886, there were between 320 and 330 native
members; 700 in 1887; and between 800 and 900 in 1892 (includingresidentsof
several neighboring native communities). By the early 1900s ahnost the entire Tlingit
population of Sitka had converted, as had large segments of several smaller Tlingit
201 SERGEI KAN

communities. Once the task of conversion had been accomplished, the missionaries
concentrated thdr efforts on Christian education and the struggle against "pagan"
customs incompatible with Orthodoxy. This activity received a boost with the ar-
rival in Sitka of a young and energetic missionary, hieromonk (later archiman-
drite) Fr. Anatolii Kamenskii."

Tiie Indian Temperance and Mutuai Aid Sodety

After a brief suy in Sitka, Kamenskii had become convinced that, despite Or-
thodoxy's recent success, much more remained to be done to turn Indians into
true Christians. He saw "intemperance" and the "dan-based mode of Ufe" as
the two greatest evils that had to be fought. While the missionary blamed the
Americans for the natives' intemperance, he percdved the indigenous social system
as the source of various pagan practices incompatible with Christianity, including
memodal feasts for the dead (potlatches), polygamy and the refusal to marry in
the church, blood revenge, shamanism, and witchcraft (Kamenskii 1906; The
Alaskan, 7/10/1897: 1; Kamenskii, Report to Bishop Nikolai, 2/1897, ACC,
0.^^322). He argued that sermons, visits to native homes, and other standard forms
of religious and moral instruction were insufficient to eradicate these evils and
to improve the material and spiritual condition of the "children of nature." The
best solution, to his mind, was the estabUshment of a native society of temperance
and mutuai aid.
The model for such an organization was Orthodox brotherhoods, which pro-
liferated among the Slavic immigrants in the U.S. in the late nineteenth century
(Tarasar 1975). In the Sitka parish, several organizations of this kind existed among
the Russian-Creole members, originating with a society created in 1878.'^ Their
main goals were to combat the increasing intemperance among the parishioners,
promote religious education and moral improvement, preserve the Russian language
(especially among the younger, more Americanized population), help maintain
peace and goodwill in the Orthodox community, engage the laity in taking care
of church property and, finally, to establish a fund for the poor, the sick, and
the survivors of the deceased members. Brotherhoods elected their own officers,
with the parish priest serving as either the president or the "spiritual advisor."
Special insignia and honorable ceremonial duties distinguished brotherhood
members from the rest of the parish. The success of Orthodox sodalities in Sitka
was modest, their membership fluauating between 15 in 1885, 48 in 1892, 36 in
1897, 77 in 1907, and 15 in 1915. It never exceeded 30<9b of the total number of
the Russian-Creole parishioners.
The statutes of the Indian brotherhood reflected Kamenskii's ideas about the
measures needed to reform Tlingit sodal life and were most likely written by him.'^
Each person wishing to join the organization had to make a solemn pledge to ab-
stain from ddnking, gambling, "pagan ceremonies," quarrels and blood revenge.
He (or she)'^ also had to promise to give up beliefs in shamans and spirits, and
to lead the peaceful, "brotherly" life of a true Christian. Members were allowed
to take part in "memorial dinners" (presumably church-sponsored meals foUow-
ing Christian funeral services), but not in memorial potlatches. They could receive
compensation for their work as grave-diggers and paUbearers, but only in cash
and not in blankets, as was customary.*' In fact, it was their duty to take pan
Brotherhoods Among Tlingit 202

in the funeral of a ftUow-membtr, standing with lighted candles during tht str-
vice and accompanying tht body to tht cemetery. Brotherhood funds, made up
of a monthly fee of 25 cents, were to bt ustd for burying tht poor mtmbtrs (up
to S10.(X) per funeral) and assisting the sick» as well as orphans and widows (SI .(X)
to $3.00 ptr person per wttk). Failurt to obstrve tht rules, or to pay the duts,
resulted in txpulsion. Tht adherence to tht statutes was to be monitored by the
mtmbtrs thtmseivts. Whilt thty tltcttd a prtsidtnt, a stcrttary, and a trtasurer
(with marshalls addtd lattr), a pritst or anothtr local dtrgyman strvtd as tht chair-
man or tht suptrvisor.
Tht certmony of swearing in ntw members was soltmn and, according to mis-
sionary accounts and my consultants' testimony, madt a strong impression on
tht Tlingit. It took place añer the reading of tht Gospd, one of the highest points
of tht Sunday liturgy. Each candidatt ascendtd tht ambo and then tumtd around
and faced tht congregation to publicly confess his sins and promise to abandon
tht old lift and follow all the statutes of tht organization. Having pronounced
a standard oath,'^ he tumtd around and kissed the cross and the Gospd, plactd
on a sptdal tablt, and then addtd his namt to tht list of members.
Compartd to other Tlingit parishioners, brotherhood members had certain sacred
dutits and tnjoytd somt privilegts. For txamplt, thty wert expected to stand with
lighted candlts during the reading of the Gospd and wtre honored by bdng allowtd
to wtar sptcial sashts and badges. Their names were invoked by tht pritst during
tht liturgy. Brotherhood marshalls wtrt in chargt of enforcing proper bdiavior
of nativt parishioners during rtgular services and Lent.

Early Ytars and Initial Diffieultits

The formal swearing in of the flrst seventeen mtmbtrs of tht "Sodety of

Temperance and Mutual Aid of St. Michael the Archangel" took place on January
1,1896. They wtre mainly young and middle-aged men and women, many of whom
wtrt marritd couplts. '^ Whilt nothing is known about tht majority of this group,
stvtral leadtrs of tht socitty wtrt idtntifitd as promintnt Sitka Indians whost
biographies wert reconstructtd on tht basis of missionary records and nativt
ttstimony. It apptars that, from the very beginning, three men played the leading
roles in tht brothtrhood.
Tht flrst presidtnt of tht organization, who rtmaintd in offlce until his death
in 1908, was Iakov (Jacob) Kanagut (Kanagood?), a man of aristocratic
background, and a member of the L'uknax.àdi dan. Born in the mid-1850s, he
atttndtd tht Russian parish school, was literate in English, and kntw tht Bible
quite well. Another younger leader was Semeon Kakwaeesh (Luke Stmtan), who
also could read, write, and speak Russian and English. He was knowltdgablt in
religous matters and taught in tht Russian school for Indians. In 1896 ht was about
thirty ytars old and strvtd as tht brotherhood secretary. A member of tht Kiks.'adi
clan, he, like Kanagut, was of aristocratic background. In tht tarly 1900s both
of thtm proselytized Orthodoxy in several Tlingit villages. The treasurer of the
socitty, Nikifor Kul'kita (Koolkett'aa?), was not schooltd, and could not tvtn
sign his own namt. At the time, he was in his mid-thirties and was soon to btcomt
one of tht ltaders of his dan-tht powerful and numerous Kaagwaantaan. Thus,
thtst three men were drawn from the thrtt leading Sitka clans.
 203 SERGEI KAN

Initially, out of 800 local Orthodox Indians, only seventeen joined the
brotherhood. This suggests that the new organization was looked upon with a
degree of suspidon. Its goals of eliminating the "old customs" must have kept
many Tlingit away. Kamenskii himself reported "violent hostility" toward the
sodety by the majority of the Sitka natives (Repon to Bishop Nikolai, 2/1897,
ACC, D 322). This attitude is understandable if the original members actually
took the brotherhood statutes to hean. According to Kamenskii, they faced the
strongest opposition when some of them tried to bury fellow members at the socie-
ty's expense, without using the services of thdr afflnes andrefusingto remunerate
them. They even had to appeal to the American court to defend theirrightto do so.
However, it is difflcult to establish the degree to which the first brotherhood
members rejected indigenous beliefs and practices. One senior consultant afflrmed
that Kanagut preached against the "old ways," but added that he did not aban-
don his position in the traditional clan hierarchy. Other members took part in
major potlatches, ignoring the missionaries' admonitions (Kan 1979-1984). Until
new information becomes available, it isreasonableto assume that those who joined
the sodety in 1896 were willing to give up at least some of the traditional customs,
but it is not clear how sincere they were or how far they were prepared to go.
The expulsion of several members in 1897, for taking part in a memorial feast,
suggests that complying with the brotherhood oath was not easy. Even Kanagut
himsef did not accept the legalized church marriage until 1902. Like other Tllnget,
he was afraid that this would seriously undermine the traditional matrilineal system
of inheritance, since children of such a marriage could appeal to the American
court for support of their claims on their father's propeny, including lineage houses
and clan regalia.
In addition to this initial negative reaction from the native community, the
Temperance and Mutual Aid Society was greeted without enthusiasm by some of
the Russian-Creole parishioners, especially the members of the Brotherhood of
St. Nicholas. In order to claim a higher status in the town's social hierarchy, they
tried to maintain some distance between themselves and the Indians. The Rus-
sians and the Creoles also did not want to give up their leadership and influence
in the church, which they maintained despite the rise of the Indian membership,
in the 1890s, when they were outnumbered by the Tlingit by at least three to one,
the clergy was already paying greater attention to the native members, causing
resentment among the rest of the congregation.
Thus, in 1895, the St. Nicholas Brotherhood, which had just established a chapter
in Juneau, refused to admit a woman who was half-Tlinget and half-white, had
been raised in a "civilized" family, spokefluentEnglish, and knew the Bible well.
Despite the priests' pleas and appeals from the Juneau Russians and Creoles, this
woman, needed by the church as an interpreter, was turned down, so as not to
set a precedent for other Indians (St. Nicholas Brotherhood, Minutes, 1895, ACC,
D 323). The extent of the Russian-Creoleresentmentagainst granting equal status
to the Indians was demonstrated by the St. Nicholas Brotherhood's refusal to lend
or sell thdr badges and other insignia to the members of the newly created Tlingit
brotherhood (ibid.).'"
Despite such conflicts, the Russians, unlike the Presbyterians, could not, and
did not, establish thdr own parish. Some of them simply left the Orthodox Church
and tried to pass for Americans, while others married Americans and joined their
* churches. At the same time, a number of Russians and Creoles intermar-
 Brotherhoods Among Tlingit

ried with the Tlingit, maintained good relationships with them, adopted and raised
native children, and offered help and hospitality to their Tlingit godchiklren.
After all, the sodoeconomic gap between the Indians and the majority of the Rus-
sians and Creoles was narrower than that between the American and the Tlingit
Presbyterians. '' In sum, the tension between the Russian and Indian brotherhoods
had more to do with an internal parish dispute over leadership and power than
with radal prejudice.^^
Between 1896 and 1902, the Indian Temperance Sodety experienced a variety
of difficulties due to internal confiicts, as well as actions by members unaccept-
able to the dergy. Although membership rose to 40 by the end of 1896, it dropped
to 20 in 1898, and plunged to its nadir in 1901 with only 17 members remaining.
In 1902, however, membership suddenly jumped to 110. While we have only
fragmented data on the events of that period, it is important, and possible, to
reconstruct them in order to understand the type of problems that condnuously
plagued the organization and the main causes of the sudden mass appeal of the
brotherhood.
According to a missionary report (Russian Orthodox American Messenger, 1903,
vol.7, no. 4: 56), one of the major difficulties in the period between 1896 and
1901 was that "matters of protocol completely overshadowed the inner meaning
and purpose of this useful church organization." This probably meant that
members were more interested in uniforms and ceremonies than in enforcing the
statutes aimed at eradicating intemperance and the "old customs." Other sources
mendon discord within the brotherhood and the concentration of power in the
hands of a few leaders. It seems that rhe native organization was experiencing
the difficuldesthat frequendy arise when members of a clan-based sodety create
an institution rhat cuts across dan ties (cf.Drucker 1958).
The strongest evidence supporting this hypothesis is the intensification of strife
within the brotherhood in the early 1900s, which coincided with a bitter dispute
between the two leading Sitka clans, the Kiks.adi and the L'uknax,adi, over a
crest both of them claimed.^'Despite optimistic statements to the contrary made
by Fr. Mefodii, the chairnuin of the organization, in his 19(X) report to Bishop
Nikolai (ACC, D 322), several documents in the missionary correspondence in-
dicate that some brotherhood members became involved in what the priests
called a "dispute over an idol" (Fr. Antonii, Reports to Bishop Nikolai, 1900-1901,
ACC, D 322). In 1902-1903, at the height of this confiict, several letters were sent
to the bishop by the brotherhood leaders, who accused each other of abusing power,
financial misconduct, and intrigue. Most of the accusations were denied by Fr.
Antonii in a follow-up letter (ibid.). Although it is not clear what prompted those
letters, hostilities in the larger native community undoubtedly affected the at-
mosphere within the society.
This would explain why many members left the St. Michael Brotherhood in 1904
and created a new society named after St. Gabriel. An analysis of the clan identi-
ty of the leaders and some of the members of the two organizadons, as well as
interviews with their descendants, clearly indicate that the split followed clan lines,
with the Kiks.adi, one of the feuding clans, joining the St. Gabriel Brotherhood
and the L 'uknax.adi remaining in the St. Michael (Kan 1979-1984)." The schism
within the original organization did not retard, but rather stimulated, the increase
in membership. Thus, in 1904 there were 100 people in the St. Michael Brotherhood
and 70 in the St. Gabriel Brotherhood.
205 SERGEI KAN

The above mentioned interclan dispute, and other events of the early 1900s,
indicate that the missionaries failed to insulate brotherhood members from the
"heathen"activities in thdr own sodety. On the contrary, by allowing and/or en-
couraging membership growth. Orthodox clergymen unknowingly weakened the
ability of the native brotherhoods to fight the "clan-based mode of life" and
facilitated thdr transformation from organizations of the more "progressive" few
to large semi-independent Tlingit sodalities, with the majority of the members con-
tinuing their active participation in potlatches and other traditional rites and
ceremonies.

The Rbe of the Membenhip and the Role of the Aristocracy

A few years after the establishment of the original St. Michael Brotherhood,
•

older men of aristocratic background began joining the organization, together with
wives, children, and matrilineal kin. Among them were such influential clan
as Pavel Katlian, Foma (Thomas) Kichkau Bennet and a convert from
Presbyterianism, Mikhail Kusetan. Russian missionaries rejoiced, knowing perfectly
well that these senior aristocrats would bring theirrelativesak>ng and would bolster
the image of the brotherhood in the eyes of the native community. The clergy
encouraged this process by obtaining certificates, medals, and other awards from
thdr superiors for the new high-ranking members.^^ In the process of attracting
the aristocracy, the missionaries inevitably had to sacrifice the "quality" of the
brotherhood members. They coukl hardly expect Tlingit chiefs and dders to aban-
don potlatching, which was still the basis of the aristocracy's special position in
the native sodal system.
It appears that the senior aristocrats joined the sodety when they recognized
the potential benefits. Here was an organization that could give them considerable
leverage in the affairs of the parish, and establish what they perceived as more
balanced, reciprocal relationships with the Russian clergy and parishioners. The
sodality could also help elevate their status in the dominant, non-native sodety,
whose American establishment was beginning to look more favorably on the In-
dian brotherhood. Indians dressed in European clothing, decorated with Chris-
tian regalia, and singing church hymns must have seemed less threatening to the
Americans than those wearing traditional costumes and performing ceremonial
dances. (cf.Axtell 1981: 41-43). Beginning in the late 1890s, the local newspaper.
The Alaskan^ published reports generally sympathetic to the efforts of the Or-
thodox missionaries in ''civilizing" the Tlingit. To attend the "mysterious" holi-
day services of the Russian Church and to watch the former "savages'* sing, pray,
and take communion became a popular pastime of the "better class" of Sitka's
American population (Russian Orthodox American Messenger, vol.7, no.4: 56-60).
Aristocrats and clan leaders were clearly seen by their tribesmen as possessing
the necessary organizational and oratorical skills, the ability to lead others and
preside over elaborate rituals in a dignified manner. In addition, they had always
been perceived as bdng physically and spiritually purer and, hence, better suited
for the performance of such duties as carrying icons and brotherhood banners
duringreligiousprocessions, hokling candles, and greeting the bishop, all of which
were considered awesome and prestigious by the Tlingit.^^ My own consultants
reiterated that brotherhood leaders were viewed similar to heads of lineages and
Brotherhoods Among Tlingit 206

dans, which means that they were expected be be generous, modest, dignified,
honest, and careful, but eloquent, in their speech (Kan 1979-1984; see also Kan
1982a: 98-115).
It should also be pointed out that many of these leaders spoke at least some
Russian and/or English, were engaged in commercial activities introduced by the
Americans, and shared the younger generation's view on such issues as equality
for Indians in Sitka's social and economic Ufe. Drucker (1958: 35-37) calls them
"selectively conservative" and argues that it was the duty of a Tlingit chief to
become involved in an activity that seemed to be attractive and beneficial to his
own people.^^ Without denying that an increased interest in Christianity could
have encouraged some of the aristocracy to join the brotherhood, I argue that
the traditional Tlingit values of rank and prestige played a greater role in that
process. The strongest evidence supporting this argument is the indigenous form
of succession that operated within these Christian sodalities. Although brotherhood
officers were supposed to be elected on the basis of religious devotion, aristocratic
leaders occupied thdr positions for long periods (sometimes for life), resisted at-
tempts by the clergy to replace them, and strongly encouraged thdr maternal
nephews and other matrilineal kin to take over after their death or retirement (Kan
1979-1984).
An examination of the specific duties assigned to brotherhood leaders, and the
present-day native interpretation of them, demonstrates that the missionary and
the Tlingit understanding of the objeaives of these sodalities were rather different.
The only role understood similarly was that of the interpreter or the religious in-
structor. Here, rank could not play a dedsive role, since the prerequisites includ-
ed a good knowledge of Russian, Church Slavonic, the Bible, and general Uteracy.
Several younger men, former students of one of the parish schools in Sitka, oc-
cupied those positions. Some of them were members of the aristocracy, but others
were of a more modest background. A few even had Russian ancestry and/or were
raised by the Russians—a liability in the indigenous social hierarchy. Their special
knowledge and skills compensated for the lack of high rank or the limited exper-
tise in traditional lore and ceremony, prerequisites for an aristocratic status. All
the other tasks performed by brotherhood leaders did not require any spedal
knowledge except the basics of Orthodoxy. This allowed unschooled natives to
become the key officers in the Orthodox brotherhoods, something they could rarely
achieve in the Presbyterian Church, where the emphasis was primarily on the
reading of the Bible, sermons, and other activities presupposing a more solid
religious education.
To understand the meaning attributed by the Tlingit to the various aaivities
carried out by brotherhood leaders and ordinary members, one has to examine
thdr view of the Orthodox ritual and, especiaUy, the sacred artifacts used in it.
The basis for this view was the indigenous notion of power. In the pre-Christian
Tlingit culture, supernatural or, rather, superhuman power was bdieved to be ob-
tained by means of physical purification, such as fasting, cleansing the content
of one's stomach, and sexual abstinence, as well as by proper moral condua. This
power gave the person greater success in various activities, as weU as wealth, both
of which were labded "luck," "good fortune," or "blessing" (laxeitl). Frequently,
laxeitl was believed to be contained in amulets, unusually shaped stones, and other
objects discovered by the individual in a state of ritual purity. The aristocracy
combined this individually obtained power with the prestige and influence de-
 207 SERGEI KAN

rived from their position in the sodal hitrarchy. The latter was maniftsttd in and,
rdnforctd by, control ovtr tht ust and display of lintage and clan crests, tht right
to wtar special costumes decorated with ceremonialregaliartprestnting thdr kin-
ship groups, and a leading role in all ctremonial events (Kan 1982a).
It appears that thtst indigtnous beliefs about powtr, prtstigt and laxeiti struc-
tured tht Tlingit perctption of tht sacrtd spact insidt tht Orthodox church, as
well as attitudts towards, and treatmtnt of, its sacrtd artifaas and substances
(candles, holy wattr, communion wint and bread, and so forth). This helps to
explain why, during Ltnt, abstaining from secular tnttrtainmtnt and other restric-
tions were so faithfully obstrved by most brothtrhood members, and why the mar-
shalls (also calltd the "brothtrhood polict") wtre given tht task of overseeing
and enforcing this bthavior. An individual found guilty of ignoring Lenten rules
was barred from communion, which has always bttn percdvtd by the Tlingit as
ont of tht major sourcts of laxeiti availabte from tht Orthodox Church.^' The
oppositon bttwttn brothtrhood mtmbtrs standing ntar tht altar in tht back of
tht church, dostr to tht priest, and tht rest of tht congregation located towards
the front, mirrored tht allocation of spact to various social cattgorits inside the
Tlingit winter house. There, the aristocracy and their immediate kin occupied the
rear, dost to tht lintagt rtgalia and tht houst scrttn decorated with the major
lineage crtst (Kan 1978). Tht hokling of candlts by brotherhood mtmbtrs during
tht rtading of tht Gospel was also inttrprettd as a sign of thtir superiority.
Mtmbtrs who broke church rules ptrtaining to physical and moral purity were
not allowtd to touch tht candles and could even be prohibited from standing
together with tht othtrs. Brothtrhood marshalls sttm to havt aaed like indigtnous
aristocrats, ovtrstting tht potiatch protocol, whtn they tnforced proper bthavior
of parish mtmbtrs during tht servicts; this included insuring that the people were
quitt and did not walk in and out of the church, tsptcially during the reading
of tht Gospel and communion. Finally, during Easter, Christmas and other
holidays, brotherhood members carried various church paraphenalia, with the presi-
dent and other officers assigned to hokl tht icons, banners, and other most sacred
artifacts.
Thus, membership in the brotherhoods was ptrctived as a special honor and
priviltge granttd only to those who maintained high standards of moral and
physical purity. Tht sotemn ritual of swearing in new mtmbtrs reinforced this
view. According to my consultants, tach ntw member pltdging to be faithful to
tht church and the brothtrhood had to hold a largt candlt. The entire congrega-
tion watchtd the flame. A steady flame indicated the pltdger's sincerity, while
a weak ont was a bad sign, lllntss, loss of wealth, and other misfortunes suffered
by brotherhood mtmbtrs wtre frequently interpreted as a consequence of their
breaking tht sacred oath, by such infraaions as coming to church intoxicattd (Kan
1979-1984). Finally, insignia given to brothtrhood mtmbtrs and the sptcial rtgalia
differentiating tht offictrs from othtrs, undoubtedly made tht new sodalities more
attractive to the aristocracy. Rank, prtstigt, and ctrtmonial rtgalia wert closely
linktd in the traditonal sociocultural systtm, which obviously affected the native
view and treatmtnt of brotherhood uniforms and regalia. Not surprisingly, the
latter havt bttn passtd on in the maternal lint, along with clan crests, until the
prtstnt time (ibid.).
It is mort difficult to establish whether aristocrats also joined the brothtrhoods
and approved of thdr activities btcause they saw tht importance of fighting native
Brotherhoods Among

intemperance. While Tlingit leaders must have been concemed with the increase
of drinking in thdr community and the crimes resulting from it, some of them
were not exempt from intoxication themsdves. Aid to the poor and the sick, tradi-
tionally the prerogative of the leadership, may have been an additional, but prob-
ably not a major» factor in attracting them into the organization. Although the
tradidonal system of mutual aid was already affected by the gradual decline of
the unity of matrilineal groups, many lineage and dan leaders continued hdping
thdr less fortunate relatives.

Brotherhood Activities

One of the major objectives of the missionaries in organizing nadve sodeties

was religious instmction. In addition to special Sunday sermons and weekly talks
delivered by the priest for the entire native congregation, brotherhood members
gathered once or twice a week for prayer meetings in the village. Atflrst»the houses
of brotherhood leaders' lineages were used, but subsequently special bufldings were
erected for that purpose by each of the two Sitka societies. One hour before the
meeting, the president or one of the marshalls walked through the village ringing
a special bell to call members to attend. Non-members interested in religious in-
struction and eager to join the singing and praying were welcome to attend as wdl.
Today» elderly Tlingit recall that such meetings were true communal affairs until
World War II. While the priest attended some of the meetings and spoke to the
people through an interpreter, schooled brotherhood members frequently acted
as religious instmctors. Hymns in C3hurch Slavonic» English, and Tlingit were
taught; passages werereadfrom the Bible, translated into Tlingit,and explained;
and instruction in church dogma and ritual was provided.
It was primarily in the context of such meetings that the majority of the Tlingit
leamed the basics of Orthodoxy. However, according to several missionary ac-
counts and native testimony (Kan 1979-1984), Christian ideas were often presented
in a "Tlingitized" form, encouraging a syncretism of Orthodoxy and indigenous
beliefs. Since Tlingit words and concepts had to be used to convey complex no-
tions of an alien religion, Christianity reached the Indians through a screen of
traditional bdiefs. A similar phenomenon has been recently described by
McLoughlin (1984: 339) in a discussion of the nineteenth century native Cherokee
preachers.^^ An example of this process of "indigenization" was the manner in
which one young Russian-educated native instmctor explained Christian
eschatology to brotherhood members. According to his daughter» he described
Christian afterlife by using a Tlingit image of the soul's journey to the land of
the dead throLigh the interior forest over numerous obstacles. He also discouraged
the mourners from excessive crying, invoking an indigenous belief about tears
causing rain to fall on the soul during its journey into the village of the dead (Kan
1979-1984)."
The use of the Tlingit language for instruction and translation of msyor prayers,
at a time when the Presbyterians were punishing Tlingit schoolchildren for speak-
ing it and onlyreluctantlyusing interpreters in their services, gave a strong boost
to the Orthodox Church by rdnfordng its image as a "native church." Orthodox
prayers in Tlingit became very popular, and are stillrememberedand sung occa-
sionally by the older members of the church, despite a transition to English that
took place in the 1960s.
 209 SERGEI KAN

The clergy's limited control over the brotherhoods and the leading role played
in them by native religious instructors are evidenced by the style of the meetings—
a combinadon of singing and praying in an Orthodox manner with "testimonials,"
strongly reminiscent of American Prostestant services, and especially those of the
Salavation Army. The latter began proselytizing in several Tlingit communides
in the 1890s and had some success, especially in smaller communides, where native
members of a panicular denomination would attend services at orher churches,
much more freely than in Sitka (Kan 1979-1984). According to the eyewitness ac-
count of a Russian dergyman {Russian Orthodox American Messenger 1910, vol. 14,
no.7: 108-109), such meetings, which were somewhat shocking to him, were referred
to by the Tlingit as "gospel" or "testimonial."
Following opening prayers and the reading and discussion of a passage from
the Bible, every participant stood up and decribed his or her understanding of
the passage. A confession of sins and a promise to lead a Christian life followed.
Missionaries reported thar such speeches were often quite long and very popular
among the Tlingit. Public oratory, of course, had been a major arena in Tlingit
society for demonstrating one's knowlege of sacred traditions, and hence a
mechanism for maintaining and raising one's status (Kan 1983b).
Although only a few fragments of such speeches were recorded by the Russian
missionaries, the eloquence and the emotional power of this new genre of native
oratory are evident. My own observations of recent religious and secular meetings
support the impressions of earlier Russian observers (Kan 1979-1984). An exam-
ple of this type of oratory is a statement made by a Tlingit woman during a meeting
of the Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist in the villge of Killisnoo in 1905, when
she asked to be admitted into the organization (Juneau Parish Records, 1905).
The speaker confessed her sins and described how, during a severe illness, one
of her female relatives recited Orthodox prayers near her bed, including a prayer
to the Mother of God. The woman claimed that, despite her terrible conditon,
she remembered the prayer and began reciting it too. This allegedly made her feel
better and she promised herself to join the brotherhood and abandon all her "In-
dian habits," to attend church services regularly, and to stand there with a lighted
candle. During the same meeting, another speaker openly confessed his sins and,
explained that he used to drink a lot, but that it only harmed him, interfering
with his work and impoverishing him. He made a pledge to abstain from liquor
and asked to be admitted to the organization.
Public confessions of violations of the moral order were not common in the
pre-Christian period. They were made primarily by persons accused of practicing
witchcraft, who were forced to admit their guilt. Hence, brotherhood
"testimonials" were a relatively new genre in the Tlingit cultural repertoire. At
the same time, it is possible that temporary absdnence and submission to the other
brotherhood rules were perceived in terms of the indigenous notion of acquiring
power and good fortune (iaxeiil) by increasing one's physical and moral purity
for a period of dme.^' Regardless of thdr personal motivadons, the Tlingit were
attracted as much by the form of these speeches as by thdr content. To speak
in public, sing in the choir, and listen to Biblical stories in one's own language
became an important part of the native social life in the twentieth century.^^ In
the excitement of a long and eloquent speech, pledges were made to abstain from
"heathen dances and ceremonies," but a few weeks, or even days, later the speaker
might be actively involved in potlatches and other traditional
 Brotherhoods Among 210

In addition, such regular gatherings of a large segment of the native communi-

ty, at a time when kinship ties between members were beginning to weaken, pro-
vided an important forum for sodal interaction and discussion of various matters
not necessarily related to Christianity. In the course of one such meeting, a coup-
le appealed to the priest and brotherhood leaders for protection against witchcraft
accusations made against them by another native, and for intercession with the
court where thdr case was bdng reviewed. The priest promised to speak to the
judge and to ask him to drop the charges or at least dismiss the fine imposed upon
the couple (Records of St. Michael Indian Brotherhood, 1899, ACC, D 322).
Brotherhood meetings were clearly a product of Tlingit creativity—a process of
blending elements from the indigenous culture. Orthodoxy, and other Christian
traditions. Not surprisingly, a few existing accounts of the Tlingit Presbyterian
religious meetings describe a similar phenomenon (Briggs 1889: 58; Kan 1979-1984).
As the core of the Tlingit Orthodox congregation, brotherhoods played the
leading role duringreligiousholidays, organizing and leading processions, ban-
quets, and other festivities. For example, when the houses of the Orthodox were
blessed by the priest during Epiphany, brotherhood members were invariably at
the head of the procession to and from the church. One year after the establish-
ment of the St. Michael Brotherhood in Sitka, its members began sponsoring an
annual Christmas banquet, to which non-members and even Prostestants were
invited. This activity was welcomed by the missionaries as a means of preventing
the Orthodox natives from engaging in heavy holiday drinking (popular among
the Russian-Creole population), as wdl as in their own "heathen festivities" that
also took place during the winter. The clergymen were the honored guests at these
festive meals, which to them seemed to lack any Tlingit elements. The dinners
opened and dosed with collective singing of hymns and prayers in Tlingit and
Church Slavonic, as well as a blessing of the food by the priest. No alcoholic
beverages were served, and the atmosphere was described by the missionaries as
"totally peaceful and truly Christian.'* From the Tlingit point of view, the climax
of such dinners was an exchange of speeches between the guests and the hosts
after the meal. In typical Tlingit style the guests praised the hosts and thanked
them for the food and hospitality. In one such speech delivered by a Presbyterian
during the 1897 banquet, he praised the Russian Church for maintaining a dose
relationship between the priest and the native parishioners, which, he said, was
lackirig in his own church. Another speaker, an Orthodox, described the benefits
of the "white man's medidne," given to him by a Russian priest, as opposed to
a shaman's cure (Russian Orthodox American Messenger^ 1897-1898, vol.2, no.l 1:
347).^'Brotherhood membersrespondedby thanking the guests for coming and
for their kind words.
Despite the Christian content of at least those speeches that were translated for
the missionaries andreportedby them,^^ the interaction between hosts and guests,
and the leading role played by the aristocracy, who acted as chief hosts, resembled
the potlatch and other traditional ceremonies involving outside guests. Just as
in these indigenous rituals, brotherhood members played the role of hosts, thereby
demonstrating thdr power and wealth, and enhandng thdr status and prestige
by generously feeding and entertaining the guests, who were witnesses of their
glory (see de Laguna 1972: 605-653; Kan 1982a).
Brotherhood banquets also offered the Tlingit an opportunity to interact more
 211 SERGEI KAN

fredy with the clergy and the sympathetic Russians and Creoles, and to establish
new relationships with them, based on greater reciprocity and equality. As in the
potlatch system of exchange, native hosts both honored thdr non-native guests
and, at the same time, symbolically stated that in some contexts they could be
superior to these representatives of the dominant sodety (Kan 1982a: 363-402).^^
This persistence of certain fundamental struaural prindples and cultural vahies
in new symboUc forms is common in contemporary TUngit religious and secular
ceremonies. Whüe the Sitka parish today no longer organizes large-scale Christmas
banquets, an Easter breakfast foUowing the midnight Sunday service is annually
sponsored by a different clan or extended family. In 1980 the sponsors-hosts an-
nounced that they were doing it in memory of thdr deceased relatives, particularly
those in the maternal line; this has obvious similarities to a memorial potlatch.
Although the speeches ddivered during the breakfast were focused largely on the
death and resurrection of Christ, the speakers often mentioned their departed
ancestors, and traditional compliments between the hosts and the guests were ex-
changed. The image of a combination of a traditional memorial feast and church
banqua was reinforced when, at the end of the meal, the head of one of the dans
of the Raven moiety announced that, since the 1980 breakfast was sponsored by
members of a dan of the Eagle moiety, it was his dan's tum to organize one next
year (Kan 1979-1984).
Among the most honored guests at brotherhood banquets were the bishops,
who have always been treated with spedal reverence by the rank-consdous TUngit.^^
The Orthodox press often reported that a bishop's arrival in and departure from
a Tlingit community was marked by impressive brotherhood processions, lavish
banquets, and lengthy speeches by chief officers addressed to their guest. It ap-
pears that by honoring the head of the Church, brotherhood leaders tried to
establish a special reciprocal relationship with him, expecting, in return, to be
distinguished by bdng given icons, medals, certificates signed by the bishop, and
other valuable awards (Kan 1979-1984). This explains why, soon after the crea-
tion of the St. Michael Brotherhood in Sitka, three of its officers wrote or dic-
tated letters to the bishop of Alaska, strongly proclaiming thdr love and respect
towards him» as wdl as thdr dedication to the new organization and the Church
in general (ACC, D 322). The bishops' willingness to satisfy the native leaders'
requests hdped enhance the image of the latter in the eyes of thdr own tribesmen
as weU as in the wider non-native community.
Another important activity of the native brotherhoods was the performance of
mortuary rituals. Despite the missionary hopes expressed in the 1896 statutes, the
brotherhood's involvement in funerals and memorial ceremonies did not transform
the indigenous mortuary ritual, the core of the Tlingit sociocultural system (Kan
1982a). Christian observances involvir^ brotherhoods were added to existing Tlingit
practices, just as the entire cycle of Orthodox death rituals was gradually superim-
posed upon and combined with traditional ones as important new ways of honor-
ing the deceased and helping his soul (Kan 1982b, 1983a).
One new role assumed by literate brotherhood members was assisting the priest
in redting prayers over the body, while the deceased lay in state in his lineage
house, or in one of the brotherhood meeting houses, for three days. At the same
time, being more actively involved in the funeral than the clergy, brotherhood
members sanctioned or, at least tolerated, some essential non-Christian praaices. ^ '
Brotherhoods Among Tlingit 212

Evidence of this can bt found in photographs taken in Sitka at tht tum of tht
ctntury. Tht dectastd is invariably shown lying in tht coffin surrounded by lineage
and dan regalia, brothtrhood insignia, and othtr Orthodox ritual objects (Mer-
rill Photographic Collection, Sheldon Jackson College).
Brotherhood leadtrs acted as masters of ctremony during tht banqutt follow-
ing a sptcial memorial service, performed by tht Orthodox Church, on tht for-
tieth day afttr a person's dtath. Conducttd mostly in Tlingit, these banquets wtre
at least partially moddtd upon tht indigtnous mtmorial feast. These so-called
"forty-day partits" rtmain today an tsstntial element of tht mortuary cydt and
have even spread to non-Orthodox natives, including those residing in villages that
havt ntvtr had a Russian church. Tht forty-day party speeches combint Chris-
tian images of comforting the bereaved with traditional references to moiety
reciprocity ("love") as tht major source of consolation for tht matrilintai kin
of tht dtctased (Kan 1982b).
Tht inability of the Russian missionaries to rtplact indigtnous mortuary rituals
with thost sponsortd by tht brotherhoods is dtmonstrattd by tht mtrt faa that
tht funtrals of most brothtrhood mtmbtrs, even tht more "progressivt" onts,
indudtd somt major Tlingit practicts. From tht nativt point of vitw, tht ftes
stt by the brothtrhood statutts to pay for the members' funtrals wert too modtst.
Brothtrhoods wtre simply added to the other institutions and individuals that acted
as hdptrs and comforters of tht survivors, just as wtrt tht Orthodox Churdi itsdf,
and in lattr times, tht Amtrican Legion, the Alaska Native Brotherhood, and other
organizations with nadve membership (Kan 1979-1984).^'
One of the significant functions of tht brothtrhoods, rarely mtntiontd in mis-
sionary reports, was the mainttnanct of peace among tht nativt parishioners. This
rolt probably devdoped from the above mtntiontd dutits of the brotherhood mar-
shalls. According to stvtral consultants (ibid.), tht samt offictrs wtrt involvtd
in mtdiating betwttn futding individuals and familits. In attempting to stttlt
disputes, thty apparently combintd tht Christian rhetoric of peace and brotherly
love with an important indigtnous traditon of naa Jt¿ra/i/—brothtrs-in-law of the
two feuding clans who acted as mediators in peace negotiations (de Laguna 1972:
593). Brothtrhood marshalis and othtr offictrs also suptrvistd tht annual Or-
thodox ritual of asking forgivtntss, performed by the entire congregation on one
of tht Sundays preceding Easter. Thdr rolt as mediators and ptacemaktrs was
important in an tra of social and economic changt, when tensions within tht native
community wert increasing.
Brothtrhoods also playtd somt rolt in providing assistanct to the poor, the sick,
and widows and orphans. It is not easy to measure the significance of that aid,
but it seems that initially it was rather limited. Howtvtr, as tconomic differentia-
tion increased and kinship tits wtaktntd, financial aid providtd by tht
brothtrhoods became mort important. According to brotherhood documents, the
amounts of money givt or loantd to mtmbtrs in nted wtrt rtlativtly small and
rtprestnitd emergencyrelitf.^^Occasionally, non-mtmbtrs also rtcdved hdp, "in
accordance with tht Christian law of charity" (Annual Rtport of tht St. Michatl
Brothtrhood, 1898, ACC, D 322).
Brothtrhood funds wtre ustd to buy rtgalia, flags, icons, and standards for
tht church and tht sodalities. Thus, with tht tstablishmtnt of the native socittits,
the Tlingit began making contributions to the Orthodox Church, whereas earlier
 213 SERGEI KAN

they insisted only on receiving help. From the 1870s to the 1890s, Russian mis-
sionaries frequently complained that the natives refused to give any money to the
church, despite their substantial earnings. After 1900, however, the situation began
to change: as the RLissian-Creole membership declined, native parishioners became
the main supporters of the Orthodox Church, particularly after flnancial aid from
Russia was suspended following the 1917 Revolution. For example, in 1928 the
two Sitka brotherhoods and the whole Tlingit congregation, contributed generously
to the fund for the building of an Orthodox church in the village of Angoon and,
took pan in the construction itself. The act of giving to the church was another
aspect of establishing reciprocity in the Tlingit relationship with the clergy and,
thus, enhanced native self-esteem.
The success of one chief objective of the missionaries—the struggle against
intemperance—is difficult to evaluate. Written sources mention it occasionally,
as do Tlingit consultants. The major deterrent seems to have been the fear that
alcohol would pollute the body and cause harm to the individual who entered the
church with an unclean substance inside him (Kan 1979-1984). Such a view cor-
responded to the indigenous notion of the opposition between purity and pollu-
tion, the supematural sanctions against mixing pure and impure substances, and
the supernatural rewards for maintaining physical and moral purity (Kan 1982a:
236-240). Thus, accepting communion or carrying icons while intoxicated, or after
a period of heavy drinking, have always been considered extremely dangerous (Kan
1979-1984). The pledge made by brotherhood candidates in front of the entire
parish must have encouraged their efforts to abstain from liquor. However, present-
day Tlingit do not emphasize this aspect of brotherhood activities and rarely refer
to the organizations as either "temperance" or "mutual aid" societies. This, and
the mere lack of any solid evidence of the decline of native drinking after 1896,
suggest that the Tlingit and the missionary perceptions of the key objectives of
the brotherhoods were somewhat different.

Reiationships with the Russian Clergy

To understand the causes of the discrepancy between missionary theory and

the native interpretation of the brotherhoods' purpose, we must examine the rela-
tionships between the Orthodox clergy and the members of the Tlingit sodalities.
To begin with, there was a language barrier between them. Very few missionaries,
even those who spent a long time in southeastern Alaska, could speak or even
understand Tlingit, a very difficult language for a European. Their reports to the
diocese administration werefliledwith complaints about the tremendous difficul-
ty of working without good interpreters. Although a number of Tlingit could per-
form that task, the usual lack of funds prevented the Church from hiring them.
Along with this communication problem came a limited understanding of Tlingit
culture. Only a handful of priests were genuinely interested in native customs and
beliefs, but even they misunderstood certain fundamental (and complex) aspects
of their parishioners' culture (Kamenskii 1906). Many of the missionaries were
not fully aware of the degree of persistence of traditional values and social rela-
tions beneath the Christian veneer (See, for example, their misunderstanding of
a major interclan dispute in Sitka discussed above). Others simply did not pay
attention to the surviving '*old customs" or chose Lo look the other ^"
Brotherhoods Among Tiingit 214

The clergymen were realistic, knowing that rhey lacked the power to enforce
the strict rules of the brotherhood statures. Thus, in the late 1890s, members were
occasionally expelled for taking part in "heathen dances" and "pagan feasts."
However, since the 19(X)s, when the societies' ranks swelled, such rules were rare-
ly enforced. In fact, rhe statutes of rhe Juneau Brotherhood of St. Basil the Great,
established in 1902, did not even menrion fighting the "old customs" as the main
objective of the organization, and referred to it only as a "temperance sodety"
(Fr. Alexander laroshevich. Report to Bishop Nikolai, 1902, Records of the St.
Nicholas Church of Juneau).
At rhe same dme, rhe missionaries were often skillfully manipulated by
brotherhood members and especially leaders. Native confessions, testimonies, and
promises to abandon the "old ways" seemed so sincere and emotional that the
clergy tended to believe them, and proclaimed the good news of the Indian "social
and religious progress." A good example of such manipulation was the presenta-
tion of clan regalia as gifts to missionaries made by brotherhood leaders who oc-
cupied high-ranking posidons in their lineages and clans (Kamenskii 1901:208-210;
1906:21-26). In their doquent speeches, the aristocrats claimed that such acts were
perfprmed to demonstrate thdr giving up of the old ways and the commitment
to Christianity. However, the missionaries' own accounts of the circumstances
surrounding the transfer of native artifacts suggest other possible reasons for such
radical action; for example, the absence of direct heirs who could inherit the crest
objects, and the custodians' fear that they would fall to anorher rival lineage within
the same clan (ibid.)^'
Such relationships with the clergy were much more difficult to sustain in the
Presbyterian Church, where the missionaries and their Americanized Tlingit allies
maintained greater control over nadve life. This explains why the majority of the
Presbyterian missionaries were not impressed with the Orthodox native
brotherhoods, and continued to criticize the Russian Church for tolerating Tlingit
drinking and the "old customs." Of course, they also refused to admit that their
bitter rivals were enjoying a greater popularity among the natives.^"

Conclusion

To evaluate the impact of Orthodox brotherhoods on Tlingit culture and socie-

ty from the late nineteenth through the first half of the twentieth centuries, we
must retum to thereladonshipbetween the Russian missionary goals and the native
response. Church sodalities undoubtedly strengthened the TUnsit commitment to
Orthodoxy (and Christianity in general) and broadened their knowledge of its
dogma and ritual practice. This was of particular significance after 1917, when
the number of Orthodox priests in Alaska declined considerably.
Within a decade after the creation of the first Indian brotherhood in Sitka, similar
organizadons were established in Juneau, Killisnoo, Angoon, Hoonah, and even
among the Inland Tlingit of Atlin, British Columbia. The desire of the inhabitants
of these communities to emulate thdr Sitka tribesmen, and join the prestigious new
organizations, stimulated thdr conversion to Orthodoxy, or encouraged those who
had already converted to remain in the Russian Church, despite heavy Protestant
propaganda.^'After 1917, many smaller Tlingit communities had no resident priest
 215 SERGEI KAN

for years, and brotherhood meetings became the miyor Orthodoxreligiousactivity.

Brotherhoods gave the Tlingit a much stronger voice in parish affairs, and paved
the way for the native takeover, when the Russian-Creole population became
assimilated into the American society and left the church. These organizations
also helped strengthen social ties in native communities at a time of increased
sodocultural change. Native brotherhoods and the Russian Church, as a whole,
served as a powerful conservative force that sbwed the pace of Tlingit Americaniza-
tion. No wonder that many of the more traditionalist elders today are, or used
to be. Orthodox. At the same time, brotherhoods were respectable religious
organizations that enabled the Indians to improve thdr status in communities
dominated by Euroamericans, who perceived native sodalities as indicators of
Tlingit "progress."
In thdr relationship with non-natives, the Tlingit chose to adapt to the new
political and socioeconomic system and tried to benefit from it. One might argue,
of course, that the American gunboats gave them no choice, but the absence of
nativistic movements in southeastern Alaska points to major differences between
the Tlingit and some other American Indian responses to Euroamerican domina-
tion. In the sphere of religion, the Tlingit also chose the road of accomodation,
rather than resistance, with the more traditionalist natives joining the Russian
Church and the more Americanized ones becoming Protestants (Kan 1983a).
Despite this general division. Orthodox brotherhoods managed to bring together
some of the younger, better-schooled Indians and the older aristocrats, each of
the groups contributing its own expertise and drawing upon its own special status
in the native community.
Brotherhoods were a failure as a missionary vehicle tor eliminating the "clan-
based mode of life." Although they might have strengthened some Orthodox rules,
the major traditional rituals and sodalrelationsremained largely unaffected. The
changes that did take place in the twentieth century resulted from a variety of
other political, economic, and sodal factors. Thus, most of Fr. Kamenskii's statutes
were never put into practice. Paradoxically, an institution meant to become an
instrument of radical sodocultural change helped the Tlingit to accept Christiani-
ty on their own terms and, consequently, contributed to the preservation of some
of the important aspects of the traditional (pre-Christian) culture. For example,
it increased the aristocracy's power and prestige that were beginning to decline,
reinforced traditional beliefs about purity and pollution, and helped syncretize
indigenous and Christian mortuary practices. Finally, the success of the Orthodox
brotherhoods, and the Russian Church in general, depended on the rich symbolic
forms they offered, which fadlitated the indigenization of Christianity. The Tlingit
who became Orthodox, and especally those involved in the brotherhoods, were
able to interpret innovations as cultural continuities, and cultural continuities as
innovations, "an accomplishment particularly adaptive when a group is forced
to operate within a larger political system it does not control'* (Fowler 1982: 3).
While the present analysis has been focused on a single case of the Native
American reaction to missionization, similar features can be found in Indian-
missionary relations in other parts of North America. Comparative studies of mis-
sionization, native response, and the role of Christianity in the North American
Indian past and present socioculturai experience are urgently needed (cf.Stuart
1981; Brown 1983).^^ This would lead to a better understanding of the complex
Brotherhoods Among Tlingii 216

issue of the persistence and change in Native American cultures in the post-contact
era and would, more broadly, refine our theodes of cultural reproduaion and
transformation.

Aciinowiedgements

The ethnographic research on which this paper is based was conducted from August 1979
through September 1980 and during brief periods in August and September 1984. It was
partially supported by a grant from the Melville and Elizabeth Jacobs Fund of the What-
com Museum of History and Art and a travel grant from the Faculty Assistance Fund, Col-
lege of Literature, Sdence, and the Arts, University of Michigan. The arehival research was
supported by a Translation Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and
a travel grant from the Center for Russian and East European Studies, University of Michigan.
I owe the greatest debt of gratitude to the Tlingit people, who shared thdr lives and memories
with me. 1 would also like to thank the helpful staff of the Manuscript Division of the Library
of Congress for the assistance in my work with the Alaska Church Collection, and members
of the Alaska clergy of the Orthodox Church in America for allowing me to examine the
parish archives of Sitka and Juneau. An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the
1982 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Assodation in Washington, D.C,
in a symposium organized by Judith Shapiro and entitled 'Translations of Christianity."
I would Uke to thank Frank Salamone, one of the discussants, for helpful critical comments
on that draft. I am also very grateful to the following scholars who read and commented
on the paper: Shepard Krech 111, Walter Edwards, Paul Dresch, and the two anonymous
reviewers of Ethnohistory. Finally, my special thanks to Lydia Black, the third Ethnohistory
reviewer, for a very careful and critical reading of the entire manuscript and for numerous
suggestions, some of which have been incorporated in the final version of this paper.

Notes

1. Of course, the opposite phenomenon of attributing new meanings to old symbols

is just as common in culture contact and culture change.
2. Another reason for this neglect is a general lack of interest in Indian Christianity
that has been characteristic of Northwest Coast, and especially TUngit, anthropobgical
research until recently.
3. In this paper, references to the Alaska Church Collection are made as to "ACC"
plus a file number.
4. For a more detailed discussion of these events, see Kan 1983a; additional historical
data can be found in Afonsky 1977; HInckley 1972, 1982.
5. In 1848, a special church was constructed for the TUngit on the border of the two
communities. The fear of a Tlingit attack on the inhabitants of Novoarkhangel'sk
contributed to the choice of its location. Orthodox missionaries hoped that by con-
ducting services in the native language they would attract new members and strengthen
the faith of therecentlyconvened ones. The Holy Trinity Church undoubtedly made
a contribution to Tlingit Christianization. However, historical evidence (e.g., Fr.
Kovrigin, Joumal of Missionary Activities, 1866, ACC, D 316) indicates that the In-
dians, particulariy the aristocracy, resented having to attend a separate church and
being only rarely admitted to the services at St. Michael Cathedral, where the Rus-
sians worshipped. The Tlingit church was demolished in 1871.
6. A number of cases involving TUngit attempts to use the traditonal system of justice
in dealing with American offenders resulted in arrests, fmes, and bombardment of
several TUngit villages.
7. Some of the older TUngit joined the Presbyterian Church because of their close kin-
ship ties with its "founding members," the young alumni of the Presbyterian mis-
sion school.
8. "Creole" was a term used in Russian America to refer to persons of mixed Russian
and native Alaskan background. In Sitka, most of the Creoles were of Russian-Aleut
or Russian-Koniag descent.
217 SERGEI KAN

9. For example, a prominent Sitka merchant, Sergei I. Kostromicinov, served for many
years as a U.S. Government Russian and Tlingit interpreter.
10. See Fr. Nikolai Mitropol'skii, Report to the Alaska Diocese, 9/21/1885, ACC, D
432; Fr. Vladimir Donskoi, Report to the Alaska Diocese, 2/25/1894, ACC. D 432;
see also Russian Orthodox American Messenger (1897) I. 12: 242-246.
11. A graduate of the St. Petersburg Theok>gical Academy, Fr., Kamenskii was interested
in comparative religion and ethnology. He collected information on Tlingit culture
and subsequently published a series of articles as wdl as two monographs on that
subject (1899, 1906).
12. Other Russian church sodalities in Sitka induded the Brotherhood of the Standard-
bearers of the Archangel Michael, established in 1885, and the Brotherhood of St.
Nicholas, organized in 1892.
13. Two copies of these statutes, written in Tlingit and Russian, are located in the Alaska
Church Collection, file D 322.
14. The role of women in Tlingit brotherhoods is an important topic requiring further
data gathering and analysis. We know that husbands and wives joined the same sodality
and that only men became officers. Photographs of brotherhood members show the
women standing behind the men and wearing only badges, whereas men's insignia
included sashes and caps. There is evidence, however, that while deferring to men
in public ceremonies, female brotherhood members played an important role in these
organizations (Kan 1979-1984).
15. In the 1890s blankets remained the main units of value in the Tlingit society. They
were used as potlatch gifts and as payment for various ritual services and injuries.
Missionaries percdved them as a manifestation, and one of the causes, of the per-
sistence of the "old customs."
16. The oath went as follows: "1 promise and swear before the Holy Gospel and the Life-
giving Cross that, upon joining the Sitka Brotherhood of St. Michael the Archangel,
I will obey all the statutes of this society. May God help me in this with all His might.
As a confirmation of my words I am kissing the Cross of my Lord God. Amen."
(ACC, D 322).
17. At least some of them were married according to native custom only and did not
have a church wedding until several years after joining the brotherhood. This would
not have been tolerated in a Presbyterian sodality.
18. When asked to do so by Fr. Kamenskii and other clergymen, many of the Russians
threatened to leave the St. Nicholas Brotherhood, stating flatly that they were "neither
fools nor Kok>sh [Tlingit] to wear the same badges," and that, if the Kolosh obtained
the same insignia, being "very ambitious, they would start pushing the Russian
people in the church" (St. Nicholas Brotherhood, Minutes, 1895, D 323).
19. In 1897 several Russian members of the Sitka parish suggested building a partition
inside the St. Michael Cathedral to protect themselves, and especially their wives and
children, from the Indians who "smelled of rotten herring." The proposal was re-
jected as bdng contrary to Orthodoxy (St. Nicholas Brotherhood, Minutes, 1897,
ACC, D 323).
20. I am thankful to Lydia Black for suggesting this interpretation.
21. For details on this case, see Kamenskii 1901, 1906: 33-37; de Laguna 1972: 288-291.
22. Iakov Kanagut became the president of the St. Michael Brotherhood and Semeon
Kakwaeesh, president of the St. Gabriel Brotherhood.
23. This special treatment of the Tlingit aristocracy followed the tradition established
in Sitka by the Russian-American Company, which bestowed gifts, medals, and other
regalia on native leaders and arranged their baptism with great pomp.
24. As one of my elderly consultants put it, "The chief has to be pure, honest, not to
give his people a bad time, not to drink, and so on. He has to be like arealChris-
tian/Yf/c/. (Kan 1979-1984).
25. According to Drucker (1958: 35-37), a similar process occurred in the recruitment
of Leadership for a Tlingit political organization, the Alaska Native Brotherhood,
established in 1912. The twelve founders of the ANB were graduates of the Presbyterian
and the Orthodox schools and were rather critical of the ''old customs." However,
the subsequent leaders of the organization, particularly on the local level, were often
men holding important titles in their lineages and clans.
Brotherhoods Among Tlingit 218

26. Laxeitl gained by following Orthodox rules of purity and by taking communion was
believed to be manifested in good health as well as success in various activities, from
fishing to earning large amounts of money in the gold mines.
27. According to McLoughlin (1984:339), by delivering their sermons in the native
language, Cherokee preachers "transfonned Biblical and Christian doctrine to fit
Cherokee speech and thought patterns. They made Christianity understandable in
a way that no white minister could; but in doing so, they made subtle changes in
emphasis and meaning."
28. Some of the sermons given by the Russian priests might have contributed to this syn-
cretism. For example, in his explanation of the benefits of wearing an Orthodox cross,
Fr. Ivan Sobolev (Report to ¥x. Vladimir Donskoi, 3/22/1894, ACC, D 316) preached:
"The cross was given to you as a proteaion against all enemies, visible and invisible.
A person wearing a cross, and making the sign of the cross, is protected from all
the vile spirits, since they are afraid of him and flee from him, just like a person
is afraid of a sharp knife or lightning."
29. This interpretation was suggested by Walter Edwards (personal communications
to whom the author is thankful.
30. Orthodox Tlingit, today, especially in Lhe small villages, are still quite fond of taking
part in various "testimonial" and "gospel" meetings organized by fundamentalist
churches and traveling preachers. Confessions made during the meetings of Alcoholics
Anonymous also resemble the speeches discussed in this paper (Kan 1979-1984).
31. The speaker was referring to Fr. Kamenskii, who had received some medical training
and distributed medications among the Sitka Tlingit. He was competing with the
Presbyterian mission, which had a full-time doctor and a hospital for the Indians.
Both missions understood the importance of offering medical assistance to the In-
dians as a means of gaining new members and keeping the old ones (see Wilbur
1894-1901).
32. The speeches not translaLed into Russian undoubtedly dealt with some non-Christian,
traditional subjects, as the oratory of church sponsored banquets and meetings still
does today (Kan 1979-1984).
33. Compare this with the Tlingit practice of adopLing whites (clergymen, politicians,
anthropologists) and giving them native names. While honoring the adopted person
and indicating that a closer relationship with him is being established, the adopLion
also implicitly suggests Lhat the Tlingit can give something to the whites that the laL-
ter lack, and thus puts them in an inferior position vis-a-vis the Indians.
34. The Right Reverend Gregory, Bishop of Sitka and Alaska (personal communication,
1979).
35. There is some evidence that brotherhood leaders took an active part in all of the Or-
thodox TlingiL funerals.
36. The Alaska Native BroLherhood also made an attempt to replace Lhe elaboraLe and
expensive traditional mortuary rituals wiLh a modest Christian funeral. A limit of
%AO.QO per funeral was set (in the 1940s), but such efforcs largely failed. Instead, the
ANB memorial service, conducted in its hall, was added to a funeral that included
indigenous as well Christian elements (Drucker 1958; Kan 1979-1984).
37. Here are some of the examples of such aid mentioned in the brotherhoods* journals:
S4.00 given to a poor member to buy food, $7.00 loaned to a young member Lo cover
his wedding expenses, and S 1.75 spent on medicine for an ailing member. Direct aid
was also occasionally given, such as visiting poor members, helping them with
household chores, and bringing them fírewood.
38. The degree of Lolerance of native customs demonstraLed by individual missionaries
depended on a variety of factors, including their social and educational background
and personality. Alaskan-born clergymen (many of them Creoles) tended to be more
tolerant than those who came from Russia (Lydia Black, personal communicaLion).
39. The head of a lineage or clan could noL continue to play Lhe dominanL role in his
group's ceremonial activities if he had given away its most sacred possessions.
40. The Sitka Presbyterian Church tried to esLablish its own religious organizations among
the Tlingit. In 1881 a "Christian Endeavor Society" was created among Lhe students
of the Presbyterian mission school; a temperance society was organized among the
adult Presbyterian Indians in 1889; and in the 1900s, a so-called "New Covenant
 219 SERGEI KAN

Legion" operated among the Sitka Tlingit. These organizations never became a&
popular as the Orthodox brotherhoods, due largely to the heavy-handed control of
the Presbyterian mission over their aaivities.
41. The two Sïtka brotherhoods i^ayed an active role in promoting the idea of establishing
tempeianoe and mutual aid sociedes in smaller communities. They organized "gospel* *
visits to neighboring villages, which fît well into the traditional pattern of mutual
visiting and feasting in the late fall and winter. Russian-educated brotherhood members
from Sitka spent time in the surrounding native villages teaching the basics of Or-
thodoxy and performing those religious services that a lay member of the Orthodox
Church was allowed to do.
42. One cannot but agree with Stuart (1981: 47), who points out that the impact of In-
dian churches on Indian communities "is yet dimly understood" and that, "by fail-
ing to focus on the Chrisdan churches as Indian insdtutions, scholars have removed
themselves from a rich [aspect of American Indian] history.*'
References

Afonsky, Gregory, Bishop

1977 A History of ± e Orthodox Church in Alaska. Kodiak, AK: St. Her-
man's Theological Seminary.
Axtell, James
1981 The European and the Indian. Essays in the Ethnohistory of Colonial
North America. London: Oxford University Press.
Berkhofer, Robert F., Jr.
1965 Salvation and the Savage. Lexington: University of Kentucky
Press.
Boutilier, James A. et al., eds.
1978 Mission, Church, and Sect in Oceania. Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press.
Bowden, Henry W.
1981 American Indians and Chrisdan Missions. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Bragdon, Kathleen J.
1983 Native Christianity in 18th-century Massachusetts: Ritual as Cultural
Reaffirmation. Paper presented ar the Second Laurier Conference on
North American Ethnohistory and Ethnology, Huron College, Univer-
sity of Western Ontairo. London, Ontario, Canada.
Brenner, Elise M.
1980 To Pray or to Be Prey: That is the Question. Strategies for Cultural
Autonomy of Massachusetts Praying Town Indians. Ethnohistory 27:
135-152.
Briggs, Horace
1889 Letters from Alaska and the Pacific. Buffalo: Press of E.H.
Hutchinson.
Brown, Jennifer S.H.
1982 The Track to Heaven: The Hudson Bay Cree Religious Movement
of 1842-1843. Papers of the Thirteenth Alqonquian Conference.
William Cowan, ed. Ottawa: Carleton University.
1983 F^r Trade/Mission Parallels, Confiicts, and Consequences in Nor-
thern America: A Methodist Among the Rainy Lake Ojibway,
1854-1855. Paper presented at the 1983 Annual Meeting of the
American Anthropological Association, Chicago, IL.
 Brotherhoods Among Tlingit 220

Conkling, Robert
1974 Legitimacy and Conversion in Sodal Change: The Case of French
Missionaries and the Northeastern Algonkian. Ethnohistory 21:1-24.
Documents Relative to the History of Alaska
1936-
1938 University of Alaska.
Doklad komiteta ob ustroistve Russkikh Amerikanskikh kiolonii.
1863 [Report of the Conunittee on the Organization of Russia's American
Colonies]. 2 vols. St. Petersburg.
Drucker, Philip
1958 The Nadve Brotherhoods: Modern Intertribal Organizations on the
Northwest Coast. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 168.
Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Emmons, George T.
n.d. The Tlingit Indians. Unpublished Manuscript. Archives, American
Museum of Natural History, N.Y.
Fisher, Robin
1977 Contact and Conflict: Indian-European Relations in British Colum-
bia 1774-1890. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
Fowler, Nancy
1982 Arapahoe Politics, 1851-1928. Symbols in Crises of Authority. Lin-
coln: University of Nebraska Press.
Glass, Henry
1890 Naval Administration in Alaska. U.S. Naval Institute, Proceedings
16: 1-19. Annapolis.
Gualtieri, Antonio R.
1980 Indigenization of Christianity and Syncretism among the Indians and
Inuit of the Westem Artie. Canadian Ethnic Studies 12: 47-57.
Hinckley, Ted C.
1972 The Americanization of Alaska, 1867-1897. Palo Alto, Calif.: Pacific
Books Publishers.
1982 Alaskan John G. Brady, Missionary, Businessman, Judge, and Govern-
or, 1878-1918. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Kamenskii, Anatolii
1899 Indianskoe Plemia Tlingit [The Tlingit Indians]. New York: American
Orthodox Messenger.
1901 Liagushinyi Protsess [The Frog Case]. Russian Orthodox American
Messenger 5: 208-210, 233-234.
1906 Indiane Aliaski [Indians of Alaska]. Odessa: Fesenko Publishing
House.
Kan, Sergei
1978 The Winter House in the Tlingit Universe. Unpublished M.A. Thesis
in Anthropology. University of Chicago.
1979-
1984 Ethnographic Fieldnotes from Southeastern Alaska. (Manuscript in
Kan's possession).
1982a Wrap Your Father's Brothers in Kind Words: An Analysis of the
Nineteenth-century Tlingit Mortuary and Memorial Rituals. Un-
published Ph.D. Thesis in Anthropology. University of Chicago.
 221 SERGEI KAN

1982bThe "Forty-day Party": Russian Orthodox Christianity and the Death

Rituals of the Tlingit Indians. Paper presented at the 22nd Annual
Meeting of the Northeastern Anthropological Association, Princeton,
N.J.
1983a Russian Orthodox Missionaries and the TUngit Indians of Alaska,
1880-1900. Paper presented at the Second Lauder Conference on
North American Ethnohistory and Ethnok)gy, Huron CoOege, Univer-
sity of Western Ontario. London, Ontario, Canada.
1983b Words That Heal the Soul: Analysis of the TUngit Potlatch Oratory.
Arctic Anthropology, 20: 47-59.
de Laguna, Frederica
1960 The Story of a Tiingit Community. Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 172. Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office.
1972 Under Mount Saint EUas: The History and Culture of the Yakutat
Tlingit. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology 7 (I-HI).
Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Lindsay, Aaron L., Rev.
1965
[18811Sketches of an Excursion of Southern Alaska. Seattle: The Shorey
Bookstore.
McLoughUn, WiUiam G.
1984 Cherokees and Missionaries, 1789-1839. New Haven: Yale Univ.
Press.
Olson, Ronald L.
1967 Social Structure and Social Life of the Tlingit Indians of Alaska.
University of Califomia Anthropological Records 26.
Patterson, Palmer E.
1982 KincoUth, B.C.: Leadership Continuity in a Native Christian Village,
1867-1887. Canadian Journal of Anthropology 3: 45-55.
Ronda, James P. and Axtell, James
1978 Indian Missions: A Critical Bibliography. Bloomington: Indiana
Univ. Press.
Simmons, William S.
1983 Red Yankees: Narragansett Conversion in the Great Awakening.
American Ethnologist 10: 253-271.
Stuart, Paul
1981 The Christian Church and Indian Community Life. Journal of
Ethnic Studies 9: 47-55.
Tarasar, C , ed.
1975 Orthodox American, 1794-1976. Syosset, N.Y.: The Onhodox
Church in America.
ToUefson, Kenneth D.
1976 The Cultural Foundation of Political Revitalization Among the Tlingit.
Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation in Anthropology. Univ. of
Washington.
1978 From Localized Clans to Regional Corporations: the Acculturation
of the Tlingit. The Westem Canadian Joumal of Anthropology 8:1-19.
Brotherhoods Among 222

Vtniaminov, Ivan
1886 Tvoreniia ICoUected Works]. Vol. 3. 1. Barsukov, td. Moscow:
Synodal Press. IRtprint of Zapiski ob ostrovakh Unalashkins-
kogo Otdda (Notts on the Islands of tht Unalaska Distria), originally
published in 1840].
Wilbur, B.
1894-
1901 Just About Mt. Unpublished Manuscript in the posstssion of tht Sitka
Historical Socitty. Sitka, Alaska.

Periodicals

The Ataskan, 1885-1907

Russian Orthodox American Messenger, 1896-1939

Manuscript Coiiecdons

Aichivts of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church. Rtcords of the Juneau,

Killisnoo, and Hoonah Parishes, 1894-1918. Juneau, Alaska.
Aichivts of tht Dioctses of Alaska, Orthodox Churdi of America. Records of
the Sitka, Angoon, and Other Parishes, 1866-1980. Sitka, Alaska.
Archives of the First Presbyterian Church of Sitka, 1884-1935. Sitka, Alaska.
Archivts. Stratton Mtmorial Library. Sheldon Jackson College. Sitka, Alaksa.
Tht Alaska Church CoUtction. Manuscript Division. Library of Congress.
Washington, D.C.

Submitted 15 August 1984

Accepted 13 November 1984
Final revisions received 8 March 1985.
Copyright of Ethnohistory is the property of Duke University Press and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.