← Club 49 Prospecting, the free gold & adventure map of the American West

The Kushtaka

Documented folklore from the Club 49 map, told straight and sourced.

The story

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.

The ground it haunts

Southeast Alaska (the Tlingit coast). Source: A living Tlingit shapeshifter tradition of the southeast coast. The Club 49 map pins this legend at its documented country, beside the real mines, active claims, land status and modeled honey holes of the same ground. Open the free map and go stand in the story.

See every spot on the free map →
Club 49 Prospecting is a free members map: 764 ranked honey holes, 20,000+ documented gold sites, stocked fishing waters, foraging sightings, gems, springs and the lore, across the American West. Free forever. club49.app