The Tlingit are a group of Indigenous peoples whose traditional home is on the coast of southeastern Alaska. The Tlingit, as well as neighboring groups, weave elaborate ceremonial blankets with abstracted images of animals. The blankets are called Chilkat blankets after one of the Tlingit tribes, and are traditionally worn during important events.

The man in this photograph wears a woven Chilkat blanket and a wooden headdress carved with the image of a bear. His name, written on the photograph as Tal Tan Billy, implies that he was connected with the Tahltan people who lived inland from the British Columbia coast, along the Stikine River. The subject's ceremonial clothing is typical of the Tlingit; Tahltan artwork was influenced by Tlingit styles. The Tahltan and Tlingit peoples had a complex relationship that involved trade networks, intermarriage, and some overlapping territories.

Caption on image: "Tal Tan Billy" ; "J.E.W."

Caption information from Bill Holm, "Art", in Wayne Suttles, ed. Handbook of the North American Indians, Vol. 7: Northwest Coast, p. 606.
Caption information source: "Unpacking a phrase: The Chilkat blanket," by Christy Christodoulides, Burke Museum, retrieved from https://www.burkemuseum.org/news/unpacking-phrase-chilkat-blanket