People belong to their mother’s clan — a membership that is permanent and that carries with it specific rights, responsibilities, and relationships.

The clans of the Tlingit are organized into two moieties — the Raven and the Eagle — and each moiety contains multiple clans with specific territorial associations, ceremonial roles, and histories.

The fact that Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi’s mitochondrial DNA matches those of people in specific clans carries cultural significance in this matrilineal system.

If the seventeen volunteers belong to specific clans, and if their clan membership is determined through the maternal line, then the shared maternal ancestry between them and Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi places him, by the logic of the matrilineal system, within the same or related clan tradition.

This does not mean that the DNA alone can definitively assign Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi to a specific clan.