This collection of photographic plates and drawings provides a visual record of a communal house of the Chilkat clan of southeast Alaska's Tlingit Tribe. The packet contains written descriptions of the history, interior design, living arrangements, and decorations of the Whale House. These illustrations of traditional Tlingit art and architecture…

The visual art forms of the Northwest Coast Indian Tribes of Alaska (Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian) share common distinctive design elements (formline, ovoid, U-form, and curvilinear shapes) which are referred to as the "Northern Style." Designs represent events or characters taken from the oral tradition of song and legend.…