Thlinkeets

Thlinkeets, North American aborigines, S.E. coast of Alaska from the Atna river to the Queen Charlotte Archipelago (lat. 60° to 56° N., with one inland group, the Tagish, about the sources of the Lewis river. The chief coast tribes are the Auks, Chilcats, Hoodsunus, Hunahs, Hanegas, Sitkas, Stahkins, and Yakutats, with a total population (1890) of 6,437. The Thlinkeets (ie. "men") are the Kolushans of Gallatin and the early Russian writers, so called from their characteristic dish-shaped lip ornament kolosh (properly kaluga), meaning a dish in the language of their Aleutian neighbours. They show affinities both to Eskimos and the Columbian Indians, and may be regarded as a sort of connecting link between these races; but the language, which is extremely harsh and uncouth, shows no resemblance to those of any of the surrounding populations, and is accordingly classed as one of the native stock-languages. (Gallatin; Powell.)