The clan system is the organizing framework for social relationships, ceremonial obligations, marriage rules, and the ownership of specific cultural property including songs, dances, names, and crests.

The potlatch — the ceremonial gathering at which clans validate their status, transfer wealth, and fulfill social obligations — remains an active practice in Tlingit communities.

The Haida people of Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia) and the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island are known for one of the world’s most distinctive artistic traditions — the formalized style of animal imagery, rendered in wood sculpture, woven textiles, and painted form, that has influenced artists worldwide since its emergence from relative obscurity in the late nineteenth century.

The Haida are also known for the dramatic recovery of their community and culture from the devastating demographic collapse caused by the smallpox epidemics of the nineteenth century.