﻿INDIAN 
  VILLAGES 
  OF 
  ALASKA 
  KEIEGER 
  471 
  

  

  The 
  light 
  green 
  color 
  was 
  produced 
  by 
  permitting 
  copper 
  to 
  corrode 
  

   in 
  urine, 
  vv^hile 
  the 
  yellow 
  came 
  from 
  a 
  variety 
  of 
  tree 
  moss; 
  black 
  dye 
  

   was 
  produced 
  by 
  boiling 
  the 
  bark 
  of 
  the 
  hemlock. 
  

  

  A 
  grass 
  raincoat 
  was 
  worn 
  with 
  the 
  shaggy, 
  unfinished 
  elements 
  

   on 
  the 
  outside 
  and 
  with 
  an 
  opening 
  cut 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  center 
  for 
  the 
  head. 
  

   A 
  long 
  fringed 
  coat 
  and 
  leggings 
  of 
  tanned 
  skins 
  were 
  worn 
  by 
  men 
  

   and 
  women, 
  although 
  neither 
  sandals 
  nor 
  moccasins 
  were 
  common 
  to 
  

   the 
  northwest 
  coast. 
  Woven 
  basketry 
  hats 
  were 
  worn 
  by 
  men 
  and 
  

   women. 
  Such 
  hats 
  had 
  a 
  cylindrical 
  projection 
  on 
  the 
  crown 
  and 
  

   w^ere 
  known 
  as 
  cloud 
  hats. 
  

  

  An 
  apron 
  of 
  shredded 
  bark 
  was 
  the 
  characteristic 
  woman's 
  gar- 
  

   ment. 
  Women 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  men 
  had 
  their 
  bodies 
  tattooed 
  by 
  introduc- 
  

   ing 
  soot 
  under 
  the 
  skin. 
  Tattooing 
  marks 
  were 
  applied 
  principally 
  

   to 
  the 
  arms 
  and 
  legs. 
  Women 
  carried 
  labrets, 
  or 
  wooden 
  disks, 
  at 
  

   the 
  center 
  of 
  their 
  lower 
  lips. 
  

  

  Origin 
  of 
  the 
  northwest 
  coast 
  Indian 
  arts. 
  — 
  The 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  

   arts 
  of 
  the 
  northwest 
  coast 
  Indian 
  has 
  never 
  been 
  satisfactorily 
  

   explained. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  suggested 
  that 
  they 
  may 
  be 
  ascribed 
  to 
  a 
  

   recent 
  Asiatic 
  influence 
  or 
  to 
  migration 
  of 
  peoples 
  from 
  the 
  islands 
  

   of 
  the 
  South 
  Pacific, 
  where 
  the 
  arts 
  of 
  wood 
  carving 
  are 
  well 
  devel- 
  

   oped. 
  There 
  is 
  also 
  something 
  to 
  be 
  said 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  a 
  theory 
  linking 
  

   the 
  Tlingit 
  or 
  Haida 
  or 
  some 
  other 
  northwest 
  coast 
  tribe 
  with 
  the 
  

   Japanese. 
  Both 
  peoples 
  are 
  adept 
  wood 
  carvers, 
  both 
  are 
  Mongoloid 
  

   in 
  race, 
  particularly 
  the 
  males 
  of 
  one 
  group 
  resembling 
  the 
  males 
  of 
  

   the 
  other. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  common 
  mistake 
  for 
  travelers 
  in 
  southeast 
  Alaska 
  

   to 
  remark 
  on 
  the 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  Japanese 
  standing 
  or 
  working 
  

   about 
  the 
  docks. 
  

  

  Both 
  people 
  are 
  fisher 
  folk 
  and 
  good 
  sailors 
  living 
  on 
  opposite 
  

   sides 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  body 
  of 
  water. 
  Occasionally 
  a 
  boat 
  has 
  drifted 
  

   across 
  the 
  northern 
  Pacific, 
  impelled 
  by 
  wind 
  and 
  current, 
  and 
  has 
  

   deposited 
  its 
  occupants 
  somewhere 
  along 
  the 
  Alaskan 
  coast. 
  The 
  

   strong 
  North 
  Pacific 
  current 
  which 
  sweeps 
  the 
  eastern 
  shores 
  of 
  

   Asia 
  is 
  deflected 
  eastward 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  strike 
  the 
  American 
  coast 
  about 
  

   Sitka, 
  where 
  a 
  part 
  is 
  again 
  deflected 
  northward 
  over 
  the 
  Aleutian 
  

   Islands, 
  while 
  another 
  part 
  is 
  turned 
  south 
  and 
  sweeps 
  the 
  entire 
  

   northweast 
  coast 
  as 
  far 
  south 
  as 
  Oregon. 
  

  

  When 
  one 
  turns 
  to 
  another 
  area 
  in 
  the 
  Pacific 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  relation- 
  

   ships 
  one 
  immediately 
  thinks 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand 
  where 
  an 
  equally 
  large 
  

   number 
  of 
  similarities 
  of 
  a 
  different 
  nature 
  may 
  be 
  traced 
  between 
  

   the 
  Haida 
  and 
  the 
  ISIaori. 
  Their 
  system 
  of 
  tattooing 
  and 
  the 
  painted 
  

   designs 
  with 
  which 
  the}^ 
  decorate 
  their 
  skin 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  identify 
  

   the 
  clan 
  or 
  family; 
  the 
  totemic, 
  carved 
  ornamental 
  prow 
  and 
  stern 
  

   pieces 
  of 
  their 
  war 
  canoes; 
  their 
  totemic 
  system 
  of 
  house 
  archi- 
  

   tecture, 
  and 
  their 
  carved 
  memorial 
  columns; 
  all 
  make 
  a 
  striking 
  

   case 
  for 
  culture 
  diffusion. 
  

  

  