» This article's about the Alaskan Native group. For the similarly-named Turkic people see Telengit. The Tlingit (or /ˈtlɪŋɡɪt/ in English; sometimes spelled Tlinkit) are an Indigenous people of northwestern America. Their name for themselves's Lingít "people" . The Russian name Koloshi (from an Aleut term for the lower lip piercing) or the related German name Koulischen may be encountered in older historical literature. The Tlingit are a matrilineal society that d… (More on Tlingit)