History of Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park

Over the centuries, indigenous peoples have occupied this area, they were the Tlingit and Southern Tutchone. The eastern edge of the park follows an ancient trade route used by the Chilkat (a Tlingit people) to barter with the Tutchone.

Tatshenshini-Alsek was one of the last areas of British Columbia to be explored. In the 1960s significant copper deposits were found near Windy Craggy Mountain, in the Tatshenshini region. In the mid-1970s two companies began rafting the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers.

In 1999, sheep hunters found artifacts and remains of a young male at the foot of a glacier; he was named Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi, or "Long Ago Man Found". The preserved frozen body turned out to be between 300 and 550 years old. Champagne and Aishihik First Nations were consulted for this find on their territory and they named the man. They agreed to scientific and DNA testing. Local volunteers were found to see if they were genetically related to the "iceman". Out of 241 tested seventeen of them were living relatives, including two sisters, were found related to be through a mitochondrial DNA match. Fifteen of these 17 were part of the Wolf clan, suggesting the man belonged to that clan.