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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
Organized by format into the following series: Series 1: Manuscripts and Series II: Moving Images.
The collection was donated to the American Folklife Center by Agnes Bellinger in 1986.
No further accruals are expected.
The collection was processed by Michelle Forner in 1994. Valda Morris revised and encoded the collection finding aid in EAD format in January 2013.
Duplication of the collection materials may be governed by copyright and other
restrictions. Access restrictions apply; some or all content may be stored
offsite. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at
Agnes Bellinger Tlingit Collection (AFC 1986/017), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Tlingit elder Agnes Bellinger directed the Eagle-Raven Dancers. The collection documents her efforts to revitalize Tlingit culture through performance, lectures, and writings.
Donated by Agnes Bellinger in 1986, the collection documents Bellinger's efforts to revitalize the traditional Tlingit culture through performance, lectures, and writings. The collection consists of two videotapes and one pamphlet on traditional music, dance, and other customs of the Tlingit nation of southeastern Alaska. The pamphlet titled "Tracks Along the Beach: Tales of The Raven" (18 pp.) was compiled by Bellinger and includes seven tales about the Raven.
The first videotape is 30 minutes. Produced by KTOO-TV in Juneau, Alaska, it contains two segments about the Eagle-Raven Dancers (Eagle and Raven are the two Tlingit moieties). The first segment, taped for news broadcast, shows Bellinger, director of the dance group, teaching a class on rhythms. Included are dance demonstrations and short interviews with two tribal advisors and one of the students. The second segment was part of the TV station's coverage of the Alaska Folk Festival in Centennial Hall, Juneau, Alaska, 1985. It features the performance of the Eagle-Raven Dancers before a live audience. The dancers, clad in traditional regalia that includes headdresses and hats, button blankets, face paint, and paraphernalia, perform six numbers, including an entrance song, clan song, and exit song. Drumming and chanting accompany the dancing.
The second video runs approximately 90 minutes. It documents a lecture by Agnes Bellinger at an unidentified space inside a replica of a Tlingit clan house. Although the video is poorly lit, her lecture is audible. She describes traditional Tlingit culture in terms of social structure, oral education, and material culture. She also answers questions from the audience.
Compiled by Agnes Bellinger, this pamphlet documents traditional oral literature of the Tlingit people, specifically seven stories about The Raven, their creation hero. 18-page booklet. The folder also includes a finding aid with information pertaining to the general use and contents of items within collection.
Produced by KTOO TV in Juneau, Alaska, it contains two segments about the Eagle-Raven Dancers. The first segment, shows Bellinger teaching a class on rhythms. The second segment features the performance of the Eagle-Raven Dancers before a live audience with the dancers, clad in traditional regalia.
The 1985 video documents a lecture by Agnes Bellinger at an unnamed museum inside a replica of a Tlingit clan house where she describes traditional Tlingit culture in terms of social structure, oral education, and material culture.