Editing Tlingit (section)

==Philosophy and religion==
{{Main|Philosophy and religion of the Tlingit}}
[[File:Box drum kóok gaaw NMNH.jpg|thumb| {{Lang|tli|Kóok gaaw}}'','' box drum, late 19th century. Image is of a sea wolf ([[orca]]).]]

Tlingit thought and belief, although never formally codified, was historically a fairly well organized philosophical and religious system whose basic axioms shaped the way Tlingit people viewed and interacted with the world around them. Tlingits were traditionally [[animist]]s, and hunters ritually purified themselves before hunting animals. [[Shaman]]s, primarily men, cured diseases, influenced weather, aided in hunting, predicted the future, and protected people against witchcraft.<ref>Pritzker, 209–210</ref> A central tenet of the Tlingit belief system is the reincarnation of both humans and animals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tlingit Culture |url=https://www.alaskan-natives.com/alaskan-native-cultures/tlingit-culture/ |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=www.alaskan-natives.com}}</ref>

Between 1886 and 1895, in the face of their shamans' inability to treat Old World diseases including [[smallpox]], many Tlingit people converted to [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]].<ref>Boyd, 241</ref> [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] missionaries had translated their liturgy into the Tlingit language. It has been argued that they saw [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] as a way of resisting assimilation to the "American way of life", which was associated with [[Presbyterianism]].<ref>Kan, Sergei. 1999. Memory eternal: Tlingit culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity through two centuries. P.xix-xxii</ref> After the introduction of [[Christianity]], the Tlingit belief system began to erode.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Memory Eternal: Tlingit Culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity through Two Centuries|last=Kan|first=Sergei|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=1999|isbn=9780295805344|location=Seattle|pages=406}}</ref>

Today, some young Tlingits look back towards their traditional tribal religions and worldview for inspiration, security, and a sense of identity. While many elders converted to Christianity, contemporary Tlingit "reconcile Christianity and the 'traditional culture.'"<ref>Sergei, 42</ref>