The Tahltan Nation belongs to the land; the land is the Stikine River watershed and all the surrounding headwaters. The Tahltan are a Dene speaking people. Tahltan are a matrilineal people, we come from the family of our mothers and organize our political, social, and economic systems based on this family structure. We name ourselves after the land and the place we belong to.

Tahltan territory is a large geographic area, encompassing 93,728.26 square km and is about 11.4% of British Columbia and is ecologically diverse, containing 8 of the 14 Biogeoclimatic zones found within British Columbia. Many of the major rivers of northwestern North America originate in Tahltan Territory; Mackenzie, Yukon, Taku, Stkine, Skeena, Nass, and Unuk rivers.

This atlas is an ongoing project with the addition of other cultural and knowledge themes; this will allow for the inclusion of other Tahltans who want to contribute their knowledge. The atlas is organized into a number of themes that are linked to phases of the ongoing project activities.