[4] Known alternatively as Dene K'e, Tagish is also closely related to the neighboring languages Tahltan, Kaska, and Southern Tutchone.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Tlingit-speaking peoples began to move in from the coast and intermarry with the native Tagish-speaking population.

As the majority of children attended the English-only Chooutla Anglican school nearby, fluency in the native languages began to be lost.

[9] For example, beginning in 2004, Southern Tutchone and Tagish languages were being revitalized and protected through an on-line approach called FirstVoices.

Ken McQueen stated that despite efforts, the language will likely become extinct after the last fluent Tagish speaker dies.

[9] Resources on the site include sound files of name pronunciation, word lists, and some children's books written in the language.

This language documentation is intended to create a holistic platform where identity, oral tradition, elders' knowledge and the centrality of the land can all be intertwined.

[15] Angela Sidney was a prominent activist for the use and reclamation of her Tagish language and heritage in the southern Yukon Territory.

Sidney's accomplishments include working with Julie Cruikshank, documenting and authoring traditional stories[16] as well as becoming a member of the Order of Canada in 1986.

[21] The total inventory of phonemes present in Tagish includes:[22] The short vowels /i, e, a, o, u/; as well as their long counterparts /iː, eː, aː, oː, uː/.