“Tlingit daggers were made in two main types. Tlingit steel and horn dagger, as described in the text.įrom a written assessment on this piece by Steven C. Some of the larger specimens would be more correctly called short swords, measuring over 20 inches in length.

Often described as “Tlingit daggers” these weapons were not solely produced by the Tlingit, nor were they all knives and daggers. The majority of knives and daggers that have survived, and which are today largely in museums, were produced by the Tlingit.

It is speculated that iron and steel found their way to the coastal nations as a result of trade and ship wrecks. When the first European colonizers encountered Indigenous peoples along the coast in the late 1700s, they already had terms for iron and steel and were familiar with their uses as well as basic forging techniques. These were most commonly made from bone and, in the northern region, copper. Prior to European colonization, Indigenous peoples on the Pacific Northwest Coast used a variety of knives and daggers. Canadian Museum of Warrior Publications, Sept 30, 2015 Mackenzie, 1884, Haida, Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands (VII-B-948). Steel war dagger with abalone inlay, designed to represent a dogfish.

Blade of the tribes