Tahltan
The Tahltan are a distinct Indigenous group situated primarily in the Subarctic Cordillera of British Columbia. They speak an Athabaskan language and have a rich cultural heritage that includes four matrilineal clans, which reflect their traditional social structure. Historically, the Tahltan relied on hunting and trapping for subsistence, targeting animals such as caribou, bears, and moose, while also engaging in fishing and trading various goods. Their society experienced significant disruption following European contact in the late 18th century, which led to substantial population decline due to disease and alterations in trade dynamics.
In contemporary times, the Tahltan people navigate a complex relationship with the mining industry, employing traditional practices alongside modern economic opportunities through the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation, one of the largest Indigenous businesses in British Columbia. Despite these advancements, there have been ongoing conflicts regarding land use, particularly concerning mining projects that threaten sacred sites. The Tahltan maintain vibrant community sites, including Iskut, Dease Lake, and Telegraph Creek, where they continue to uphold their cultural practices and engage in economic development that respects their heritage.
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Tahltan
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Subarctic
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Athabaskan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Subarctic Cordillera, British Columbia
- POPULATION SIZE: Iskut Band: 806 registered members in 2022 and Tahltan Band: 2,029 registered members in 2022, (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2022)
Historically, the Tahltan had four named matrilineal clans based on the moiety system. Their society was stratified, with rankings indicated by titles and economic privileges. Winter dwellings were rectangular and roofed with vertical stripped saplings. Subsistence was based on hunting caribou, black and grizzly bears, moose, mountain sheep and goat, and wood buffalo and on trapping fur-bearing animals. Both men and women joined in fishing. They traded cured hides, leather goods, babiche for coastal dentalia, copper plates, eulachon oil, enslaved people, and blankets. Divorce and polygamy were equally rare.
The first European American contact with the Tahltan was in 1799 with the fur trade, and later with gold miners, who introduced numerous changes in land-use patterns, trade relations, and goods. Approximately three-fourths of the Tahltan population died from disease during the nineteenth century. By 1874, White traders had effectively disrupted the group's previous trade relationship with the Tlingit, forcing many people to adopt a wage economy. During World War II, many Tahltan men worked on the Alaskan Highway.
In the twenty-first century, one source of income for the Tahltan is guiding, packing for outfitters and sportspeople, and government employment. The Tahltan people also continue to build on their traditional sources of income, including fishing, hunting, berry picking, gathering medicinal plants, tanning hide, and bead working. However, the Tahltan have also embraced the mining industry, and the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation is a multimillion-dollar corporation with interests in various business sectors. They have three main community sites: Iskut, Dease Lake, and Telegraph Creek; Dease Lake is the largest of these.
The Tahltan have been at odds with the government of British Columbia (BC) over mining projects taking place on their land on a number of occasions, and in 2007 representatives of the BC government and the Tahltan Central Council established a restoration plan to address the effects of these projects on the Tahltan community. Beginning in 2005, they were engaged in a conflict with Royal Dutch Shell over a coalbed mining project planned to take place on Tahltan territory, specifically at the sacred site where Tahltan oral history holds that their culture began. Shell withdrew its mining plans in 2012. The Tahltan continued to hold significant power in the business community in the mid-2020s, and its Tahltan Nation Development Corporation was rated as one of the largest Indigenous businesses in British Columbia.
Bibliography
Albright, Sylvia L. Tahltan Ethnoarchaeology. Dept. of Archaeology, Simon Fraser U, 1984.
Amarascu, Dana. “Tahltan Bear Dog.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 17 Dec. 2021, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tahltan-bear-dog. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
"Our Story." Tahltan Central Government, /tahltan.org/culture-heritage/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
Imran, Moosa. “Tahltan Nation Development Still One of the Biggest Indigenous Businesses in BC.” Canadian Mining Journal, 15 Nov. 2022, www.canadianminingjournal.com/news/tahltan-nation-development-still-one-of-the-biggest-indigenous-businesses-in-bc. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
Kennedy, Dorothy. “Tahltan.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tahltan. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
Markey, Sean, Greg Halseth, and Don Manson. Investing in Place: Economic Renewal in Northern British Columbia. UBC Press, 2012.
Thompson, Judy. Recording Their Story: James Teit and the Tahltan. U of Washington P, 2007.