The Tlingit

Tlingit

The Tlingit are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of America. Their name for themselves is Lingít, meaning "People of the Tides"...

 clans of Southeast Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, in the United States, are one of the indigenous cultures within Alaska. The Tlingit people also live in the Northwest Interior of British Columbia

British Columbia Interior

The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, and in the southern Yukon Territory

Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....

. There are two main Tlingit lineages or moieties within Alaska, which are subdivided into a number of clans and houses.

The Tlingit people

The Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska have two moieties (otherwise known as descent groups) in their society, each of which is divided into a number of clans. Each clan has its own history, songs, and totems, and each forms a social network of extended families which functions as a political unit in Tlingit society.

The two moieties of the Tlingit society are the Raven (Yéil) and Eagle/Wolf (Ch'aak'/Gooch). The latter has two names because its primary crest differs between the north and the south regions of Tlingit territory, probably due to influence from the neighboring tribes of Haida and Tsimshian

Tsimshian

The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...

. Each moiety is further subdivided into clans, and each clan is subdivided into houses.

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.

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. It is a matrilineal 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; the children are born for the father, but he has a lesser role in their rearing than does the mother's brothers.

Not all clans listed below are extant today; 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 listed may be 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.

Raven clans (Yéil naa)

• Gaanax.ádi — Galyáx, Xunaa, T'aaku, Aak'w, S'awdáan, Takjik'aan, Taant'a
• Táakw.aaneidí
• Gaanaxteidí
• T'éex'.ádi
• Ishkeetaan/Ishkahítaan
• L'ukwnax.ádi
• X'at'ka.aayí
• Koosk'eidí/Xaas híttaan
• X'alchaneidí
• Kiks.ádi (Frog/Herring, Rock/Wood, Worm)
• Teeyhíttaan
• Teeyineidí
• Deisheetaan (Beaver) —
• Aanx'aakíttaan/Aanx'aak híttaan
• L'eeneidí (Dog Salmon)
• T'akdeintaan (Sea Pigeon)
• L'ukwaax.ádi
• Noowshaka.aayí
• Kwáashk'ikwáan/Kwáashk' Kwáan
• Nicole'Pitruzzello-^
• Weix'hineidí
• Yéeskaneidí
• L'ookwhineidí
• Kuyeidí
• Téel' híttaan
• Sakwteeneidí/Sukwteeneidí
• Kijookw híttaan/Gijookw híttaan
• Taneidí
• Kookw híttaan
• Kayaa.ádi
• Tukwyeidí/Tukwweidí
• Kaasx'agweidí
• Taalkweidí
• Kuyéik'.ádi
• HeHL -non Tlinget Indigenous Peoples(Raven Moieties- Bear/Badger/Wolf/Sea Monster)

Eagle/Wolf clans (Ch'aak'/Gooch naa)

• Kaagwaantaan (WOLF)
• Yanyeidí
• Lkweidi
• Teikweidí BROWN BEAR
• Dagisdinaa
• Jishkweidí
• Dakl'aweidí - KILLER WHALE
• Shangukeidí - THUNDERBIRD
• Wooshkeetaan - SHARK
• Chookaneidí - GLACIER BEAR
• Kadakw.ádi
• Tsaateeneidí
• S'eet'kweidí
• Kookhittaan - BEAR - BOX HOUSE
• Tsaagweidí - killerwhale
• Nees.ídi
• Was'ineidí - BEAR
• Naasteidí
• Kayaashkeiditaan
• Naanyaa.aayí
• Sik'nax.ádi
• Xook'eidí
• Kaax'oos.hittaan
• Neix.ádi (Eagle/Beaver/Halibut)