Tsimshian

The Tsimshian are Native Americans who live in British Columbia.

They number some 10,000 and are located on the north coast near Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, and the southernmost corner of Alaska on the reservation of Annette Island. The latter is notable for being the only reservation in Alaska.

The Tsimshian in Alaska were refugees from religious persecution in Canada during the 1890s who requested settlement on Annette Island from the US government. They maintained their reservation status and holdings exclusive of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and thus do not have an associated Native Corporation, although Tsimshian in Alaska may be shareholders of the Sealaska Corporation. The Annette Island reservation is the only location in Alaska allowed to maintain fish traps, which were otherwise outlawed when Alaska was admitted as a US state. The traps are used to provide food for people living on the reservation.

The Tsimshian are in negotiations with Canada and British Columbia for a Treaty settlement.

The Tlingit claim that their art of weaving Chilkat Blankets is derived from Tsimshian sources, although this has not been historically corroborated, probably because it was prehistorical. The Tlingit also trace a number of other arts to Tsimshian sources, and intermarriage and slaving was common between them and the Haida.