Tlingit People

The Tlingit are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast whose homeland, Lingít Aaní, covers much of Southeast Alaska and nearby parts of Canada. They call themselves Lingít, meaning “People of the Tides.” Known for a matrilineal clan society, carved totem poles, cedar plank houses and woven Chilkat robes, the Tlingit number about 22,600 in Alaska according to the 2020 census, and their language and arts are the focus of active revitalization [1][2].

Name and Language

The Tlingit autonym, Lingít, is usually translated as “People of the Tides.” The Tlingit language forms an independent branch of the Na-Dené language family, related to Eyak and the Athabaskan languages. Estimates give 200 to 400 native speakers in the United States and about 100 in Canada, and all of them are bilingual or nearly bilingual in English [1].

Revitalization efforts are under way. Language programs operate at the Sealaska Heritage Institute, the Goldbelt Heritage Institute and the University of Alaska Southeast, and community classes are offered in villages such as Klukwan and Angoon [1].

Homeland

Tlingit territory historically ran from the Portland Canal in the south to the coast just southeast of the Copper River delta in the north, taking in nearly all of the Alexander Archipelago. Scholars divide it into four sections: the Southern, Northern, Inland and Gulf Coast Tlingit. The landscape is a coastal temperate rainforest of steep islands, fjords, rivers and glaciers, which shaped a way of life centered on the sea and the salmon streams [1][2].

Social Structure

Tlingit society is matrilineal: children belong to their mother’s clan, and property and hereditary roles pass through the maternal line. The society is divided into two moieties, Raven and Eagle, and each moiety contains numerous clans that subdivide into lineages or house groups. A person traditionally married into the opposite moiety [1].

Clans and houses display heraldic crests on totem poles, canoes, feast dishes, house posts, weavings and jewelry. Wealth and economic power marked rank, but generosity and proper conduct were also essential signs of status [1].

Houses, Totem Poles and Art

Traditional houses were rectangular cedar plank buildings built on foundations that allowed storage beneath the floors. The front of the house often carried a design, and a totem pole identified the clan and moiety of the builders [1]. Tlingit art, including carved poles, woven textiles, painted screens and bentwood boxes, is among the most recognized Indigenous art of the Northwest Coast.

Weaving traditions such as Chilkat and Ravenstail are carried on by artists including Anna Brown Ehlers (born 1955), Ursala Hudson, Clarissa Rizal (1956 to 2016) and Jennie Thlunaut (about 1891 to 1986). Prominent carvers and artists include Nathan Jackson (born 1938), Amos Wallace (1920 to 2004), Preston Singletary (born 1963) and Esther Littlefield (1906 to 1997) [1].

Beliefs and Religion

Traditional belief was animist, and hunters ritually purified themselves before hunts. Shamans, mostly men, were believed to heal illness, influence weather, aid hunting, foretell events and protect against witchcraft. Reincarnation of humans and animals was a central tenet [1].

Between 1886 and 1895 many Tlingit converted to Orthodox Christianity after shamans were unable to treat smallpox, and Russian Orthodox missionaries translated the liturgy into Tlingit. Some younger Tlingit today look to traditional beliefs for identity and inspiration [1].

Food and Subsistence

Salmon is the most emphasized food, with seal and game close behind. Halibut, shellfish and seaweed were spring foods, and seal and salmon came in late spring and summer. Berries such as salmonberry, soapberry and currants ripened in summer, and sea otters were hunted in the fall. Herring and eulachon were staples, eaten fresh or dried for storage. Eating only beach food was considered a sign of poverty [1].

Contact and History

The first contact with Europeans came in 1741 with Russian explorers, followed by Spanish explorers in 1775. The 1862 smallpox epidemic in the Pacific Northwest killed about 60 percent of the Mainland Tlingit and 37 percent of the Island Tlingit [1]. After the United States purchased Alaska in 1867, Tlingit people formed organizations and tribal governments to protect their rights [2].

The Tlingit Today

The 2020 census counted 22,601 Tlingit in Alaska, and about 2,110 live in Canada. Alaska Tlingit have no reservations. Instead the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act created regional and village corporations, and Sealaska Corporation serves the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes is among the federally recognized tribal governments in the state [1].

Many men work in the fishing industry, while women work in canneries or in handicrafts such as wood carving and basketry sold for practical use or to visitors [1].

Notable Tlingit

Prominent Tlingit include linguist and scholar Nora Marks Dauenhauer (1927 to 2017), clergyman and scholar Walter Soboleff (1908 to 2011), writer Ernestine Hayes (born 1945) and Byron Mallott (1943 to 2020), who served as Lieutenant Governor of Alaska from 2014 to 2018 [1].

Lineages, Clans and the Potlatch

Britannica describes three levels of Tlingit kinship: the two moieties to which every person belonged, the clans within each moiety that trace their origin to a common legendary ancestor, and the lineages, the most basic and important unit, made up of extended families related through the mother. Each lineage was largely self-sufficient. It owned territory, held its own ceremonies, was politically independent and had its own leaders, and no single authority governed the whole people. Lineages sometimes chose temporary war leaders and joined alliances, but they were not obliged to do so [3].

Potlatches were ceremonial gift distributions that marked a cycle of rituals mourning the death of a lineage chief. Over time two or more lineages sometimes merged into a single village, although before European contact each lineage probably had its own [3].

Villages, Houses and Seasonal Life

The Tlingit are the northernmost of the Northwest Coast peoples, living on the islands and coastal lands of southern Alaska from Yakutat Bay to Cape Fox. Their large permanent houses were built near good fishing grounds and safe canoe landings, often along the beaches of sheltered bays. These were winter residences, and in summer families dispersed to more distant fishing and hunting grounds. Fishing was the basis of the economy, with salmon the main food, and wood was the primary material for houses, memorial poles, canoes, dishes and utensils. Britannica gives an early twenty-first-century estimate of about 22,000 people of Tlingit descent [3].

FAQs

What does Tlingit mean? Lingít means “People of the Tides” in the Tlingit language.

Where do the Tlingit live? Mostly in Southeast Alaska, with smaller communities in British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada.

How many Tlingit speak the language? Estimates give 200 to 400 speakers in the United States and about 100 in Canada.

What are Tlingit moieties? The Tlingit are divided into two moieties, Raven and Eagle, and a person belongs to the moiety of the mother.

What is Sealaska? Sealaska is the Alaska Native regional corporation for the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska.

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Tlingit
2. Wikipedia: Alaska Natives
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Tlingit

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 11, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue