Scope and Content
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.