The Kushtaka

A living Tlingit shapeshifter tradition of the southeast coast

The Tlingit and Tsimshian peoples of southeast Alaska tell of the Kushtaka, the “land-otter man,” a shapeshifter that lures the lost and the drowning, mimicking a crying baby or a loved one’s voice to draw them into the water and turn them into one of its own. It is a serious and ancient piece of Northwest Coast belief, tied to the real dangers of these cold, tidal, fog-bound waters. Told with respect, as the living folklore of the people whose land this is.