The Inland Tlingit

Ethnographers confidently point to the Tlingit-speaking population of southeastern Alaska as an important component of the Northwest Coast culture area. They cite these Indians as a maritime oriented group, sharing a common speech and many distinctive culture traits. About fourteen Tlingit tribes ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology
Main Author: McClellan, Catharine
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1953
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0081130000001167
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0081130000001167
Description
Summary:Ethnographers confidently point to the Tlingit-speaking population of southeastern Alaska as an important component of the Northwest Coast culture area. They cite these Indians as a maritime oriented group, sharing a common speech and many distinctive culture traits. About fourteen Tlingit tribes have been listed and in part described for the Alaska coast. I should like to discuss three less well-known Tlingit-speaking bands now located in the interior of northern British Columbia and of southern Yukon Territory. These three neighboring groups are: the Tagish band of Carcross at the junction of lakes Bennett and Nares; the Atlin band on the lake of the same name; and the Teslin band with headquarters on Teslin Lake. This is the farthest inland of the lakes mentioned, and it is little more than a hundred miles from the mild, damp Pacific coast with its abundant sea and shore life.