Teslin

Yukon

Teslin is located just north of the BC and Yukon border at Mile 804 on the Alaska Highway. It has a population of approx 450 residents and is bordered by the waters of Nisutlin Bay and Teslin Lake. The Teslin area (and all along the Alaskan panhandle) is home to the Tlingit people (Tlingit is pronounced Klin-kit). Their language is Lingít meaning "People of the Tides.” Teslin is Lingit for Long Narrow Water. The Teslin Tlingit are known as Inland Tlingit or Deisleen Ḵwáan which means Big Sinew Tribe.

The Nisutlin Bay Bridge crosses Teslin Lake, at the narrowest point of the bay. The Tlingit played an important role in the early development of this stretch of the highway. In the late 1930s, George Johnston, son of an Inland Tlingit chief, brought a car to Teslin and then proceeded to cut his own road 6 kilometers along the lakeshore so he could run a taxi service in the summer. In 1941 this road was added to the Alaskan Highway.

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Teslin Tlingit