Tlingit

• CATEGORY: Tribe
• CULTURE AREA: Northwest Coast
• LANGUAGE GROUP: Na-Dené
• PRIMARY LOCATION: Northwest Canada to the southeastern Alaska coast
• POPULATION SIZE: 7,617 in the United States (2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Tables: Tlingit Alone); 2,110 in Canada (2019: The Canadian Encyclopedia)

Tlingit literally means “the people.” Their language is Łingít. The Tlingit are part of the Na-Dené language family.

The Tlingit people likely began to occupy roughly their present southeastern coastal Alaska locale soon after the last Ice Age, or around 6000 to 5000 BCE. In this area, where the modern Alaskan city of Sitka also celebrates its Tlingit heritage, the weather is much more moderate than inland because of the prevailing currents from Asia, which bring milder temperatures. Population estimates for 1740 were roughly 10,000 Tlingit. By the mid-2020s, population estimates for descendants of the Tlingit people in the United States and Canada were between 17,000 and 22,000. This represents an impressive endurance, particularly given the devastation of smallpox in 1836, brought by Russian settlers and tradespeople.

In 1741, Russian ships first made contact with the Tlingit peoples. The Russians were attracted by the mild temperatures and the presence of otters and seals. Quickly following the Russian tradesmen were Russian missionaries, and Russian Orthodoxy remains a widely professed form of Christianity among the Tlingit as well as among other peoples from Alaska and the Northwest Coast culture area.

Kinship and Social Status

There are two important kinship divisions (“moieties”) of the Tlingit: the Raven (sometimes called Crow) and the Eagle (sometimes called Wolf). Each of these divisions is divided into several clans or sibs. In Tlingit tradition, an Eagle should marry a Raven, although in modern practice, this is not always observed. The political organization of the Tlingit people is based not on the larger moieties but rather on the clans. Sib identity is permanent, and there is a recognized sib/clan leader; there is no recognized leader for the two main groupings of Raven and Eagle. These clans, in turn, are divided into “house groups.” Identity is passed through the mother, so children must spend time with the mother’s male relatives to learn about their identity.

Wealth and social status are singularly important in Tlingit society, but status is determined as much by distribution and generosity in distribution as it is by one’s inherent wealth. The most widely known example of this is the ceremony of the Potlatch (based on the Chinook/Salish term patshatl), forms of which are found among many Northwest Coastal Indigenous nations along the Alaskan, Washington, and Canadian coasts. The Canadian Government banned Potlatch from 1884 to 1951, but communities revived the ceremony in the twentieth century.

The Tlingit, as did other Northwest Coast peoples, practiced the slavery of Indigenous Americans. Enslaved peoples were normally prisoners of war or their descendants. It was possible for an enslaved person to gain their freedom and even to marry into the lower levels of Tlingit society, but mixing too widely across the caste-like status boundaries was not encouraged.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Tlingit spirituality is evident in an elaborate mythology of the powers of animal spirits in the maintenance of life. All animals have spirits that can communicate with humans, and there is an element of reincarnation in some Tlingit spirituality. Shamanism is an important practice among the Tlingit, as protection from Kushtaka ("evil spirits") is an important consideration for families and individuals. While elaborate, Tlingit religion is largely non-ideological in content and is concerned primarily with maintaining order, nature, and life. One of the most important aspects of Tlingit spirituality is the great significance attached to interpreting dreams and communicating with animal spirits that occurs through dreams. In Tlingit mythology, there is an elaborate cycle of stories about Raven, the most important character in Tlingit mythology, who is also considered the progenitor of the people themselves.

Tlingit culture is notable for its elaborate and strikingly beautiful artwork, which can be found both in the wood carvings that decorated boats and homes and in woven clothing such as the famous “Chilkat” blankets. Basketry is also a well-developed art form among the Tlingit. Elements of Tlingit art motifs can be found with variations in other coastal peoples, such as the Haida.

Bibliography

Dauenhauer, Nora M., and Richard D. Dauenhauer, editors. Haa shuka, Our Ancestors: Tlingit Oral Narratives. U of Washington P, 1987.

Dauenhauer, Nora M., and Richard D. Dauenhauer, editors. Haa Tuwunaagu yis, for Healing Our Spirit: Tlingit Oratory. U of Washington P, 1990.

Graeme, Mike. “'Not Our Border': How a Colonial Line Shapes Tlingit Lands—and my Own Ancestor's Role in It.” IndigiNews, 26 Sept. 2024, indiginews.com/features/not-our-border-colonial-line-tlingit-lands. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

"Our History: A Timeline." Tlingit & Haida, tlingitandhaida.gov/about-us/history. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

Krause, Aurel. The Tlingit Indians. U of Washington P, 1956.

"Łingít | Tlingit ." American Museum of Natural History , www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/northwest-coast/lingit-tlingit. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

McClellan, Catharine. “Tlingit.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 1 Nov. 2019, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inland-tlingit. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

Pelton, Mary Helen, and Jacqueline DiGennaro. Images of a People: Tlingit Myths and Legends. Libraries Unlimited, 1992.

"Traditional Tlingit Country." Alaska Native Knowledge Network, www.ankn.uaf.edu/ancr/southeast/tlingitmap/TlingitMap.pdf. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

“2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Tables: Tlingit Alone.” US Census Bureau, data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5YAIAN2021.B01003?q=tlingit. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.