Kwakwaka'wakw Nation -6- Kwakiutl

Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_pl... The Kwakwaka'wakw (also Kwakiutl) are an Indigenous nation who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the mainland. Kwakwaka'wakw translates into "Kwak'wala speaking tribes", describing the collective tribes within their nation. Their language, now spoken by less than 5% of the population (about 250 people), is Kwak'wala. The Kwakwaka'wakw are known for their history, culture and art. In recent years, the Kwakwaka'wakw have been active on the revitalization of their culture and language. The Kwakwaka'wakw are made up of 17 tribes who all speak the common language of kwak'wala. Their society was highly stratified, with three main classes, determined by heredity: nobles, commoners, and slaves. Their economy was based primarily on fishing, with the men also engaging in some hunting, and the women gathering wild fruits and berries. Ornate weaving and woodwork were important crafts, and wealth, defined by slaves and material goods, was prominently displayed and traded at potlatch ceremonies. These customs were the subject of extensive study by the anthropologist Franz Boas. In contrast to European societies, wealth was not determined by how much you had, but by how much you had to give away. This act of giving away your wealth was one of the main acts in a potlatch. ~wiki National Geographic: The New "Indians" This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Channel: Education
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: iKnowYouSeeThis

Length: 02:39
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Views: 209

Tags: aboriginal  affairs  Canada  First  indian  Indiginous  Kwakiutl  Kwakwaka'wakw  Nations  Peoples  potlatch  Seaweed  

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