The Inland Tlingit

• 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: Yukon; Pacific; Nares; Tagish; Atlin; Carcross; Teslin; Teslin Lake; tlingit; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0081130000001167; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0081130000001167

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.