Role Of Stewardship

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The individual "ownership" or stewardship of economic areas was re- garded as highly important, giving, as it did, a measure of authority to the incumbent of the position-political authority of a sort, and thus prestige. The rights were inherited according to local rules of inheritance (by the sister's son among Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and Xaisla; by the son else- where in the area), so that it came about that in every Northwest Coast society economic wealth was in the hands of the direct descendants of a single line.
Thus, the economic possessions of a Northwest Coast society were chiefly in the custody of, or nominally "owned" by, a line of eldest sons of eldest sons (or the matrilineal counterpart of such a line). By virtue of their stewardship these men were elevated to prominence. Direct- ing utilization of the natural resources as they did, they were the acknowl- edged heads of the groups-the heads of the extended families.to

ed heads of the groups-the heads of the extended families.to The extended family heads are the individuals referred to commonly, as the "chiefs.""' The close relatives of the chiefs were not lacking in prestige, however, not only because they were intimately associated with the head of the social group, but in addition they customarily held various minor properties, in lands and other things as well.12They were ranked according to their nearness to the chief. In the course of a few generations, as the secondary lines of descent diverged more and more from the direct line, and as patrimonies dwindled, descendants of the chief's brothers could claim but a low rank. Nonetheless by virtue of their kinship to the head of the village they retained certain rights and privileges. The rights of utilization of economic tracts by all group members may be reckoned an expression of this recognition of blood-relationship, as was, in the north, the right to receive at potlaches even though in a low place.

The significance of these last-named facts is that status in its minimum terms-membership in society-was derived from kinship and expressed in terms of wealth.
The first thing that set our individual off from his fel- lows was his name. Names, on the northern coasts, were very definitely hereditary property, and what is more, each name carried with it a particu- lar social evaluation based on its traditional origin and the honor or dis- repute of its bearers subsequently. That is to say, the names
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