The Tlingit clans of Southeast
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
, in the United States, are one of the Indigenous cultures within Alaska. The
Tlingit people
The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...
also live in the Northwest
Interior of British Columbia
The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior ...
, Canada, and in the southern
Yukon Territory
Yukon () is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s westernmost territory and the smallest ...
. There are two main Tlingit lineages or
moieties within Alaska, which are subdivided into a number of
clans
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
and houses.
Tlingit moieties
The Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska have multiple
moieties (otherwise known as descent groups) in their society, each of which is divided into a number of
clans
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
. Each clan has its own history, songs, and
totems
A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While the word ''totem'' itself is an ...
, and each forms a social network of extended families which functions as a political unit in Tlingit society.
The moieties of the Tlingit society are the Raven (''Yéil'') and Eagle, Wolf, killer whale, Frog, Thunderbird and hummingbird and butterfly. The similarity to moiety names are because its primary crests differ between the north and the south regions of Tlingit territory, probably due to influence from the neighboring tribes of
Haida,
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian (; ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace and ...
and
Nisga'a
The Nisga’a (; ), formerly spelled Nishga or Niska, are an Indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The origin of the term ''Niska'' is uncertain. The spelling ' ...
. Each moiety is further subdivided into clans, and each clan is subdivided into houses.
Clan names, crests and political structure
The Tlingit clans have names whose meaning typically reflects the
foundation story of the clan. The clans are usually referred to in English by the name of their primary crest, such as ''Deisheetaan'' being called "Beaver Clan". This is not accurate since some crests may be held by multiple clans. Clans of opposite moieties occasionally claim the same crest, but such irregular ownership is usually due to a debt owed by some other clan; until the debt is paid, the clan holding the debt claims the crest of the clan which owes the debt, as a means of shaming it.
Clan allegiance is governed through a
matrilineal
Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...
system; children are born ''to'' the mother's clan and gain their status within her family, including what was traditionally hereditary leadership positions. The parents are required to be from differing clans and be opposite moieties; the children are born from the father, but he has a lesser role in their rearing than does the mother's brothers.
Not all clans listed below are extant; some have been absorbed into other clans; others have died out due to the lack of female descendants, and a few have been lost to history. Not all the clans are independent, since clans formed in a long and fluid process. For instance, the
Kak'weidí descend from the Deisheetaan. Some members claim that they are a "house" within the Deisheetaan clan; others claim that they are a small but fully independent clan.
List of clans
In the list below the Tlingit name of the clan is given with its primary crest in parentheses, followed by the various
kwáan (region or village) in which they are found. Known houses are listed beneath each clan.
Clans of the Raven moiety (''Yéil naa'')
*
Gaana
x.ádi —
Galyá
x, Xunaa, T'aa
ku, Aak'w, S'awdáan, Ta
kjik'aan, Taant'a
* Táakw.aaneidí
* L'ukna
x.ádi (Coho salmon)
*
Gaana
xteidee (hibernation frog/strong man/wood worm)
* T'éex'.ádi
* Ishkeetaan/Ishkahítaan (Ganaxteidee) (Hibernation Frog) same as Ganaxteidee (di)
* X'at'ka.aayí
*
Koosk'eidí/Xaas híttaan
*
X'alchaneidí
* Kiks.ádi (Frog/Herring, Rock)
* Teeyhíttaan
* Teeyineidí
* Deisheetaan (BEAVER also use of Dragonfly) —
* Aan
x'aakíttaan/Aan
x'aak híttaan
* L'eeneidí (Dog Salmon)
* T'akdeintaan (Sea Pigeon/Tern)
* L'ukwaa
x.ádi
* Noowshaka.aayí
* Kwáashk'i
kwáan/Kwáashk'
Kwáan
* Wei
x'hineidí
* Yées
kaneidí
* L'ookwhineidí
* Kuyeidí
* Téel' híttaan
* Sa
kwteeneidí/Su
kwteeneidí
* Kijookw híttaan/Gijookw híttaan
* Taneidí
* Koo
kw híttaan
* Kayaa.ádi
* Tu
kwyeidí/Tu
kwweidí
* Kaas
x'agweidí
* Taal
kweidí
*
Kuyéi
k'.ádi
* HeHL -non Tlinget Indigenous Peoples (Raven Moieties- Bear/Badger/Wolf/Sea Monster)
Clans of the Eagle/Wolf moiety (''Ch'aak'/Gooch naa'')
* Kaagwaantaan (Wolf)
* Yanyeidí
* L
kweidi
* Tei
kweidí (Brown Bear)
* Da
gisdinaa
* Jish
kweidí
* Da
kl'aweidí -(House/Killer Whale Clan/Wolf Clan)
* Shangukeidí - (Thunderbird)
* Wooshkeetaan - (Shark)
* Chookaneidí - (Glacier Bear)
* Kada
kw.ádi
* Tsaateeneidí
* S'eet'
kweidí
*
Kookhittaan - (Bear)
**
Kóok Hít , Box House
* Tsaagweidí - (Killer Whale)
* Nees.ídi
* Was'ineidí - (Auklet) BEAR
Kée
x'
Kwáan
**Ta
x' Hít , Teir/Platform/Bench House
* Naasteidí
* Kayaashkeiditaan
* Naanyaa.aayí (House/Killer Whale Clan/Wolf)
* Sik'na
x.ádi
*
Xook'eidí
*
Kaa
x'oos.hittaan
* Nei
x.ádi (Eagle/Beaver/Halibut)
See also
*
Ganhada
*
Laxgibuu
*
History of the Tlingit
References
* Emmons, George Thornton (1991). ''The Tlingit Indians''. Volume 70 in Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. Edited with additions by Frederica De Laguna. New York: American Museum of Natural History. .
* Hope III, Andrew (2008)
Traditional Tlingit Country – Map and Tribal List Juneau, Alaska: Alaska Native Knowledge Network.
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Tlingit culture
First Nations history in British Columbia
Native American history of Alaska
Alaska Native ethnic groups
Native Americans in Alaska
Indigenous clans of North America