The Tlingit clans of Southeast
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
, in the United States, are one of the indigenous cultures within Alaska. The
Tlingit people
The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ), also live in the Northwest
Interior of British Columbia
, settlement_type = Region of British Columbia
, image_skyline =
, nickname = "The Interior"
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subd ...
, Canada, and in the southern
Yukon Territory
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
. There are two main Tlingit lineages or
moieties within Alaska, which are subdivided into a number of
clans and houses.
Tlingit moieties
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
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no 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 wo ...
, 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,
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only r ...
and
Nisga'a
The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga'a language as (pronounced ), are an Indigenous people of Canada in British Columbia. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The name is a ...
. 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
An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have sto ...
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 is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
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 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 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 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/Dragonfly) —
* Aan
x'aakíttaan/Aan
x'aak híttaan
* L'eeneidí (Dog Salmon)
* T'akdeintaan (Sea Pigeon)
* 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 - BOX HOUSE
* Tsaagweidí - killerwhale
* Nees.ídi
* Was'ineidí - BEAR
* Naasteidí
* Kayaashkeiditaan
* Naanyaa.aayí
* Sik'na
x.ádi
*
Xook'eidí
*
Kaa
x'oos.hittaan
* Nei
x.ádi (Eagle/Beaver/Halibut)
See also
*
Ganhada
The Ganhada (variously spelled, but often as G̱anhada) is the name for the Raven "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the G̱anada ( ...
*
Laxgibuu The Laxgibuu or Laxgyibuu (variously spelled) is the name for the Wolf "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to identically named clans am ...
*
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 American tribes in Alaska