A Sample Mini Report for You

Here’s what a sample mini report from you might look like including properly cited sources:

I thought I would get us started by researching the at.oow. It’s obviously going to be an important symbol in the story. In our story, the at.oow given to Cole by Garvey is a blanket, but, apparently an at.oow is not always a blanket. One site I looked at run by Tlinglits from Sitka, Alsaka, defined the at.oow as “clan regalia… owned by the clan or house group.” Regalia means an item that shows your affiliations, such as costumes native to your ethnic group. It could also be a family crest, passed down through the years. I was wondering why the author chose to make this at.oow a blanket. Is it because blankets suggest warmth and comfort? I don’t think this particular at.oow is going to provide much of that for Cole in the pages to come, since he’s already tried to burn it, but that might change, if his attitude changes. Here’s what I found out about the importance of an at.oow to Tlinglit culture. The following picture is not labeled as an at.oow, but it is from a reliable source, and seems to be similar to what is described in the book: http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/features/croads/tlingit.html One site I looked at said that at.oow “can refer to land or sacred sites, celestial bodies such as the moon and sun, names, stories, songs, spirits and crests” (Worl). Own the moon? Wow! It then said, “The ownership of a clan's at.oow is validated through ceremonies most often referred to as "potlatches” (Worl). So, one way or the other, this gift from Garvey was more meaningful (to give away an heirloom so precious to his tribe) than Cole, or us, as readers might expect.) Another thing that I read about was that many at.oows were taken away by white people and placed in museums for their protection, but, today there is a movement to return these precious items to the people to whom they belong. I know that Cole is pretty angry. I wonder if he will do something to destroy this valuable item; it's clear that he doesn't understand the value of many things--he's been given so much in the way of material items, but, perhaps never before something so valuable.

Works Cited:
Brady, Isabella. "Our Culture." Sheet'ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi: A House for the People of Sitka. 2000.
Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center. 15 Jun 2000
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Worl, Rosita. "Introduction to the Tlingit Culture and Repatriation." 1899-2001 Harriman Expedition
Retraced: A Century of Change. 2001. PBS. 15 Jun 2007
http://www.pbs.org/harriman/explog/lectures/worl.html.