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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Master carver Douglas Chilton rides at the prow of his creation—the Raven Spirit canoe—at its ceremonial launch in Washington, D.C. The canoe is now on display in the Smithsonian’s Sant Ocean Hall.
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Sep 12 2011 - 11:55am
About 2,500 years ago cold climate brought the first Inuit peoples into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the coast of Eastern Canada. Early Eskimo groups, known as Groswater Dorset, occupied many sites along the Lower North Shore, and as far west as Cape Whittle. With warming climates these Eskimo...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Tlingit paddlers carefully lift the Raven Spirit canoe into Washington’s Potomac River for its ceremonial launch. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Oct 27 2009 - 11:42am
Using traditional tools, master carver Douglas Chilton of the Tlingit Nation chisels a red cedar log from the Alaska forest, gradually shaping it into a canoe. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Oct 27 2009 - 11:27am
At a ceremony on the edge of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., Douglas Chilton and other members of the Native community officially name the canoe Raven Spirit and launch the craft. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit photo essay.
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Oct 25 2010 - 6:18pm
In the episode of One Species at a Time, writer Karen Romano Young takes an icebreaker to Barrow, Alaska, to join in the festival of Naluqatak and learn about the intimate relationship between the Inupiat Eskimos and the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Listen as she tells Ari Daniel Shapiro how...
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Nov 1 2010 - 6:08pm
November is American Indian Heritage Month. Mark the occasion by learning about the Raven Spirit Canoe, a craft that was carved in Alaska by master carver Douglas Chilton of the Tlinget Nation. The Sealaska Heritage Institute brought the canoe to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, where members of...
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Sep 9 2011 - 3:33pm
The Arctic Studies Center's excavation site map of Hare Harbor maps some of the community's excavated structures that archeologists have unearthed. An Inuit house, blacksmith shop, and cookhouse are among some of the excavated buildings on site.
Learn more about what has been uncovered at Hare...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Classic examples of Northwest Coast art, these rattles from British Columbia illustrate the sophisticated way of life salmon helped provide. They were used during shamanistic performances to cure sickness and combat witchcraft.
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Sep 12 2011 - 1:10pm
CREDIT: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center
Basque Whalers Background
Having already learned to hunt large whales in the Bay of Biscay in the 13th through 15th centuries, Basques began arriving in the rich whaling grounds of southern Labrador, Newfoundland, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
With the sun in its beak, a raven figurehead points the way for the Raven Spirit canoe, now on display at the Smithsonian Institution. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Mar 22 2011 - 10:10am
A still from Sun Come Up, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital.
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Oct 7 2009 - 4:08pm
Under a watchful raven’s eye, this handmade Tlingit canoe became a symbol of the ocean and of Alaska’s Native peoples.
Over the course of a year, Douglas Chilton skillfully chipped away at a cedar log with traditional tools used by his ancestors for generations. Chilton, a master carver and member...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
As these models show, traditional canoes came in a variety of shapes and designs. Some of the models even include paddlers. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Crafted from the skins of salmon, these mittens are naturally waterproof. They kept hands dry while paddling or working with fish nets. Learn more about Northwest Pacific cultures and marine life in the Raven Spirit photo essay.
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Sep 9 2011 - 3:20pm
A 2011 excavation led by the Arctic Studies Center uncovered this fragment of decorated European stoneware called a bellarmine jug. Uncovering this fragment, that was likely manufactured in the 15th and 16th centuries, reveals information about European trade and influence in the Hare Harbor...
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Sep 12 2011 - 12:24pm
For over a decade, Smithsonian Arctic Archaeologists have been investigating an early European whaling site at Hare Harbor in Quebec, Canada. The site and the artifacts that have been recovered has revealed important information about the relationships between Inuit peoples of Northern Canada and...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Sometimes the “Watcher,” a raven with an irregular wing, monitored carver Douglas Chilton’s progress on the canoe from an overhead perch. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Fish spears and fish weirs—fish traps placed in rivers—are traditional ways of catching salmon on rivers. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Sep 9 2011 - 2:52pm
For over a decade scientists have been investigating an early European whaling site at Hare Harbor in Quebec, Canada. Located in the Gulf of St.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
The Raven Spirit canoe would eventually travel more than 4,828 kilometers (3,000 miles) from Prince of Wales Island to Washington, D.C. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Sep 9 2011 - 4:46pm
An underwater archaeological stratigraphy reveals the different levels of soil in Hare Harbor, Quebec. The stratigraphy – a process archeologists use to help date materials by identifying soil layers – showed the deepest level of soil (labeled G) contained wood chips, possibly the residue of site...
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Sep 20 2011 - 5:08pm
Boats Connect Us to the Ocean
More than any other objects, boats symbolize human connection to the ocean. As you look through the center of the Ocean Hall, past the model right whale, you can see a magnificent carved canoe.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Douglas Chilton uses traditional carving tools to shape the Raven Spirit canoe. Chilton—a master carver and member of the Tlingit Nation—transformed the log into a 26-foot-long, traditional oceangoing canoe that was named Raven Spirit.
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