Esther Littlefield (Aanwoogeex) was born in 1907 in Sitka, a
city in southeast Alaska in the lacelike archipelago of islands
that tail away southward, hugging the British Columbia mainland.
This is the historic home of the Tlingit and Haida tribes,
expert hunters and fishermen, boatbuilders, and wood carvers of
great renown who set their clan insignias into totem poles that
once towered throughout the forests of the Pacific Northwest as
far south as Oregon. Littlefield belongs to the Kiksadi, a
Tlingit clan whose members can wear the Raven emblem. Among her
people young men are instructed in building and woodworking;
young women are responsible for learning to work with fibers
—basketmaking, sewing, and the construction of clothing and
ceremonial robes. Littlefield's mother taught her the
traditional techniques of beadwork, button design, and the
handling of felt and leather. More important, she imbued her
with a deep respect for the meaning behind the forms.
Littlefield said: "A long time ago Mama saw beauty