The Tagish people live in the Southern Lakes region of the Yukon. In the 1800s they were drawn into the fur trade, acting as middlemen between the coastal Tlingit and the inland Kaska and Tutchone. They traded shells, eulachon oil, dried clams, wooden boxes and seaweed for furs, tanned hides, clothing, special lichens or mosses used for dye.
The Tagish intermarried with the coastal Tlingit bringing about the present day blending of the two cultures. Tagish/Tlingit culture is matrilineal and follows the mother’s line. When a child is born he or she is born into the mother’s moiety, clan and house group. Each moiety consists of several clans, with each clan belonging to either Wolf or Crow.
Hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering traditional medicines and berries remain an important part of the Tagish lifestyle. The Carcross/Tagish First Nation still maintains many trails in Southern Yukon, Alaska and northern British Columbia, including the famous Chilkoot Trail which was a trading route long before the arrival of non-First Nations.