The Tlinglit people are located in the northern region of the Northwest coast. They are artistic by nature and some would argue that their fine sense of workmanship and design is best exemplified through the medium of carving. Most Tlinglit objects were carved from wood, the most readily available and highly useable substance. Other materials such as horn, copper and later silver were also decorated with carved figures. The unique design elements or patterns used by traditional Tlinglit carvers belong to what has become known as the Northwest Coast Indian style. This style quite easily recognizable portrayed creatures from the natural world in varying degrees of realism. Often they were split or fragmented with eyes, joints, fins, feathers or some other easily recognizable feature delineated with black broad form lines. Traditional colors were green-blue and red.

The frog of the Tlinglit crests is not a frog at all but the nine-centimeter toad, bufo boreas borea, and an abundant species that one often sees during the day in summer. This amphibian hibernates in   winter in pockets it digs in the dead leaves on the forest bottom, emerging in the spring. Animal emblems of the opposite moieties of the Tlinglit appear to symbolize the similarities and differences, the connections and separations of certain animals, and thus the complementary social units they represent.

The ceremonies of public validation are called potlatches at which the hosts show their guests their wealth and power. At these ceremonies,  the chiefs are honored and their hats are shown to the public. As a result, rings may be added to the hat.