Family

Most Athabaskan groups have a matrilineal system in which children belong to the mother's clan rather than the father's. Clan elders make decisions concerning marriage, leadership, and trading customs. Often, the core of the traditional group is a woman and her brother and their two families. In such a combination, the brother and his sister's husband often become hunting partners for life. 

Athabaskan husbands were expected to live with the wife's family during the first year of marriage when the new husband worked for the family and hunted with his brothers-in-law. In traditional Athabaskan culture, an uncle takes social responsibility for training and socializing his sister's children so that the children grow up knowing their clan history and customs. Children had tasks assigned to them when they were still quite small. They learned by observation and practice. 

Children became adults at puberty. Once a girl reached womanhood, she had to avoid contact with men during menstruation because it was believed that her menstrual flow contained spiritual power that could alienate animals and bring on scarcity. Throughout her adult life, women followed monthly taboos and seclusion. Women usually married shortly after reaching puberty. Parents arranged marriages with others in the same regional group.

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