Tlingit artist and dancer Odin Lonning during Ku-Tee-Ya Dance Group performance.
Odin carves and paints, including painting the design on the drum in this photograph.
Odin's family crest is the Shark under the Eagle clan.
In Tlingit society you inherit your mother's clan, Eagle or Raven. Interclan marriage between an Eagle (carnivore) and a Raven (non-carnivore) produces a balanced individual.
Odin's mother is of the Woosh-Ke-Taan clan, and his father is Norwegian.
Odin was inspired at an early age by local artists such as Lincoln & Amos Wallace,
Nathan Jackson, and Johnny Avatok.
"RESPECT" & TLINGIT CULTURE
"In the dictionary, the word 'respect' is defined as an act of giving particular consideration, a special regard or esteem. In Tlingit culture, respect was shown in many ways. As an artist, one of the ways was to simply illustrate the family stories, legends and crest designs in a proper and traditional way. In the various pieces that I produce, consideration is shown in the style and the traditional colors used, and story designs that often refer to the qualities and values of the Tlingit people, both in the past and present day."
~Odin Lonning, Tlingit Artist and Dancer
