The Tlingit or Lingít are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America and constitute two of the two-hundred thirty-one federally recognized Tribes of Alaska. Although the majority, about 14,000 people, are Alaska Natives, there is a small minority, 2,110, who are Canadian First Nations.
Chief Anotklosh of the Taku Tribe, wearing a Chilkat blanket, Juneau, Alaska, c. 1913
Hoonah, Alaska, a traditional Tlingit village near Glacier Bay, home of the Xúnaa Kháawu
Two Tlingit girls, near Copper River (Alaska), 1903. Photograph taken by the Miles Brothers
Kóok gaaw, box drum, late 19th century. Image is of a sea wolf (orca).
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and practices, such as the centrality of salmon as a resource and spiritual symbol, and many cultivation and subsistence practices. The term Northwest Coast or North West Coast is used in anthropology to refer to the groups of Indigenous people residing along the coast of what is now called British Columbia, Washington State, parts of Alaska, Oregon, and Northern California. The term Pacific Northwest is largely used in the American context.
Chief Anotklosh of the Taku Tribe of the Tlingit people, ca. 1913
Ceremonial cape, Tlingit people
Kwakwakaʼwakw people at a wedding ceremony in 1914
A Kwakwakaʼwakw canoe in 1910.