Russian American Photographer in Tlingit Country: Vincent Soboleff in Alaska

285 Pages·2013·71.68 MB·English

by  Sergei Kan

A RussiAn AmeRicAn PhotogRAPheR
in tlingit countRy
Vincent Soboleff in Alaska
S e r g e i K a n
a russian american
photographer
in tlingit country
the charles m. russell center series
on art and photography of the american west
B. Byron Price, General Editor

a russian american
photographer
in tlingit country
Vincent Soboleff in Alaska
Sergei Kan
university of oklahoma press : norman
also by Sergei Kan
Symbolic Immortality: The Tlingit Potlatch of the Nineteenth Century
(Washington, D.C., 1989)
Memory Eternal: Tlingit Culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity through
Two Centuries (Seattle, 1999)
(coed.) Perspectives on Native North America: Cultures, Histories,
and Representations (Lincoln, 2006)
Lev Shternberg: Anthropologist, Russian Socialist, Jewish Activist
(Lincoln, 2009)
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Kan, Sergei.
a russian american photographer in Tlingit country : Vincent Soboleff in alaska / Sergei Kan.
p. cm. — (The Charles M. russell Center series on art and photography of the american West)
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSBn 978-0-8061-4290-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Soboleff, Vincent,1882–1950. 2. Photographers—United States—Biography.
3. russian americans—Biography. 4. Tlingit indians—Pictorial works.
5. Killisnoo region (alaska)—Pictorial works. i. Soboleff, Vincent, 1882–1950. ii. Title.
Tr140.S634 2013
770.92—dc23
[B]
2012020813
A Russian American Photographer in Tlingit Country: Vincent Soboleff in Alaska is Volume 10
in the Charles M. russell Center Series in art and Photography of the american West.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library resources, inc. ∞
Copyright © 2013 by the University of Oklahoma Press, norman, Publishing Division of the
University. Manufactured in China.
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise—except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright
act—without the prior permission of the University of Oklahoma Press. To request permission to
reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, University of Oklahoma Press, 2800
Venture Drive, norman OK 73069, or e-mail [email protected].
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To the people of Xootsnoowú—past, present, and future;
to Walter Soboleff (Kaajaakwtí) (1908–2011);
and to all the descendants of Fr. ioann Soboleff
and Matushka Olga (Luedke) Soboleff

contents
acknowledgments
ix
introduction
3
The Tlingit Country Photographs of Vincent Soboleff
55
references
267
index
269

acknowledgments
Many inDiViDUaLS anD inSTiTUTiOnS have made this project possible,
and their kind assistance is gratefully acknowledged. First i would like to thank
the entire staff of the alaska State Library Historical Collections, where the
Vincent Soboleff photographs are housed. Their assistance and advice allowed me
to accomplish an enormous amount of work in the relatively short time i was able
to spend working in their collection. Special thanks go to gladi Kulp and James
Simard, the Historical Collections’ past and present heads.
a great big gunalchéesh goes to all my Tlingit friends, teachers, and
consultants. Many of them are no longer with us: Mark Jacobs, Jr., Walter
Soboleff, Jimmie george, Lydia george, Mary Willis, William nelson, Sr., Martha
nelson, george Jim, and Matthew Fred, Sr. among those Tlingit men and women
who are alive and well and have helped me a great deal in this project, Harold
Jacobs is due a special word of thanks. Without his phenomenal knowledge of
the history of the angoon clans, names, crests, and regalia, i would not have
been able to provide detailed and accurate captions for many of the plates. Other
members of this group to whom i am thankful are Thea (Zuboff) Brown, Joseph
Zuboff iV, Jimmy george, Daniel Johnson, Jr., alan Zuboff, and Matthew Kookash.
i would also like to thank Marina Miller of Sitka for sharing with me stories about
and several photographs belonging to her father, John Panamarkoff. My old
friends and colleagues richard and nora Dauenhauer have helped me, as always,
with the spelling of several Tlingit names and generously hosted me in Juneau
in October 2006. Lance Twichell provided an additional and valuable last-minute
check of Tlingit clan and lineage names, as well as some other terms. in Sitka,
my good friends Mary Therese Thompson and Peter gorman were most gracious
hosts.
Finally, at the University of Oklahoma Press, my editor, alessandra Tamulevich,
has been a wonderful (and patient) supporter of this entire project, and her advice
and encouragement meant a great deal to me. i would also like to thank the
Press’s anonymous reviewers of my manuscript; even when i disagreed with their
criticism, it made me rethink some important aspects of the work.
The project has been supported by two grants from the alaska Humanities
Forum, a grant from the Philips Fund of the american Philosophical Society, and
a grant from the Claire garber goodman Fund, administered by the anthropology
Department of Dartmouth College. a more recent grant from the same fund
helped cover some of the costs involved in producing this book.
ix