The first Europeans to travel the present-day Tatshenshini River were Jack Dalton and Edward Glave in 1890, accompanied by two native guides.

[2] About 1897, Jack Dalton established a trading post near the location where the present-day Tatshenini begins to flow westward.

Today, the site of Dalton's trading post is a popular location for salmon fishermen, and it is the launch point for rafting trips on the Tatshenshini River.

[4] However, the original phrase appears to have been t’áchán shahéeni, a compound Tlingit noun meaning river with stinking chinook (king) salmon at its headwaters (t’á [chinook or king salmon] + chán [stink] + sha [head of] + héen [river] + i [possessed noun suffix] ).

[6] At the headwaters (shahéen) of the Blanchard River, the salmon (t’á) die, and their carcasses stink (chán).