followed to settle in southeast Alaska. Similar stories are told regarding the other rivers (Copper, Alsek and Taku) that slice through the Coast Mountains. The Pacific coastal part of the Stikine basin is in the traditional lands of the Shtax'héen Kwáan (Stikine band of Tlingit). Formed by the unification of several smaller clans under the hereditary lineage of Chief Shakes, they controlled a large area around the mouth of the Stikine and extending well upriver. The original Shtax'héen Kwáan territory, estimated at , was the largest of any Tlingit group. The lands of the Tahltan people extended over much of the interior Stikine Plateau, including the entirety of the inland Stikine basin. Tahltan and Tlingit lands met around the confluence of the Stikine and Iskut rivers. The navigable section of Stikine between the Grand Canyon and the Iskut River was shared by the Tlingit and Tahltan on a seasonal basis. In summer, Tlingit would travel up the river to dry salmon and berries in the dry interior climate. During winter the Tahltan had exclusive use of this section, which they utilized for hunting and trapping. In the area around present-day Glenora, the Tlingit claimed use of tributaries while the Tahltan held rights to the main stem. The Tlingit also had exclusive use of certain berry patches, which were not so abundant on the coast. The Tlingit, traveling in large dugout canoes up to in length, dominated river commerce on the Stikine. They also transported goods from other coastal tribes including the Haida and Tsimshian into the interior, where they traded with the Tahltan. The primary trading location was at the confluence of the Stikine and Tahltan rivers. Most of the Tahltan clans visited this place every year to fish and trade. From the coast, goods including eulachon, salmon oil, shells, woven baskets and blankets, as well as slaves obtained by the militaristic Haida, were ferried to the interior and exchanged for furs, caribou and moose hides, babiche, and obsidian knives and arrowheads (the latter mined from volcanic deposits around Mount Edidza). The Tahltan in turn traded coastal goods with the Kaska and Sekani further inland. Fur trade Captain George Vancouver mapped the Stikine delta in 1793 during the Vancouver Expedition, but did not realize that the river extended into the interior. In 1799, Captain Rowan in the sloop Eliza reached the Stikine delta and was the first European to record