Post by blackcrowheart on Mar 4, 2007 21:45:07 GMT -5
Gwich'in Culture
The Gwich'in are the northernmost Indian Nation living in fifteen
small villages scattered across vast area extending from northeast
Alaska in the U.S. to the northern Yukon and Northwest Territories in
Canada. There are about nine thousand Gwich'in people who currently
make their home on or near the migratory route of the Porcupine River
Caribou Herd in communities in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest
Territories. The word "Gwich'in" means "people of the land", and it
refers to a people who have lived in the Arctic since before the
political boundaries that now transect the Gwich'in homelands were
drawn on maps dividing Alaska and Canada. Oral tradition indicates
that the Gwich'in have occupied this area since time immemorial, or,
according to conventional belief, for as long as 20,000 years.
Map Showing Primary Habitat of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and
Traditional Homeland of the Gwich'in VIEW ONLINE
<http://www.gwichinsteeringcommittee.org/mappch.pdf> [top]
<http://www.gwichinsteeringcommittee.org/mappch.pdf> [PDF 656KB]
The Gwich'in nation spans Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and the Northwest
Territories.
Alaska: The Gwich'in in Alaska live in nine communities, Arctic
Village, Beaver, Birch Creek, Canyon Village, Chalkyitsik,
Circle, Eagle Village, Fort Yukon and Venetie. Their
communities are organized under tribal governments with elected chiefs
and councils. The Council of Athapaskan Tribal Governments is a
consortium of the Gwich'in and two Koyukon tribal governments
to address regional concerns as directed by the tribes.
Yukon: Vuntut Gwitchin is the name of people who live in the settlement
of Old Crow, Yukon. The name in the Gwich'in language means "people of
the lakes". Old Crow is the northernmost Yukon community, located at
the confluence of the Crow and Porcupine Rivers.
Northwest Territories: The Gwich'in communities Fort McPherson (Teetl'it
Zheh), Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik and Inuvik in the Northwest Territories
are located in the region of the Mackenzie Delta.
For thousands of years, Gwich'in have relied upon the Porcupine
River Caribou Herd to meet their subsistence needs. Each spring they
watch first the pregnant cows, and later the bulls and yearlings leave
their country in their northern migration to the coastal plain of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the caribou birthing place and
nursing grounds. The Gwich'in are caribou people. The birthplace of
the Porcupine River Caribou Herd is considered Sacred. The Gwich'in
call it "Iizhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit" (The Sacred Place Where
Life Begins). The Porcupine herd is named after its spring and fall
crossings of the Porcupine River, during its annual migration. The
Porcupine Caribou herd consists of approximately 129,000 animals.
Each spring they migrate from their winter range in the boreal forests
of the Chandalar, Porcupine and Peel Rivers, north to their spring
calving and nursery grounds on the Arctic coast plain of northeastern
Alaska and Yukon. Today, as in the days of their ancestors, the
caribou is still vital for food, clothing, tools, and are a source of
respect and spiritual guidance for the Gwich'in.
The Gwich'in are the northernmost Indian Nation living in fifteen
small villages scattered across vast area extending from northeast
Alaska in the U.S. to the northern Yukon and Northwest Territories in
Canada. There are about nine thousand Gwich'in people who currently
make their home on or near the migratory route of the Porcupine River
Caribou Herd in communities in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest
Territories. The word "Gwich'in" means "people of the land", and it
refers to a people who have lived in the Arctic since before the
political boundaries that now transect the Gwich'in homelands were
drawn on maps dividing Alaska and Canada. Oral tradition indicates
that the Gwich'in have occupied this area since time immemorial, or,
according to conventional belief, for as long as 20,000 years.
Map Showing Primary Habitat of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and
Traditional Homeland of the Gwich'in VIEW ONLINE
<http://www.gwichinsteeringcommittee.org/mappch.pdf> [top]
<http://www.gwichinsteeringcommittee.org/mappch.pdf> [PDF 656KB]
The Gwich'in nation spans Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and the Northwest
Territories.
Alaska: The Gwich'in in Alaska live in nine communities, Arctic
Village, Beaver, Birch Creek, Canyon Village, Chalkyitsik,
Circle, Eagle Village, Fort Yukon and Venetie. Their
communities are organized under tribal governments with elected chiefs
and councils. The Council of Athapaskan Tribal Governments is a
consortium of the Gwich'in and two Koyukon tribal governments
to address regional concerns as directed by the tribes.
Yukon: Vuntut Gwitchin is the name of people who live in the settlement
of Old Crow, Yukon. The name in the Gwich'in language means "people of
the lakes". Old Crow is the northernmost Yukon community, located at
the confluence of the Crow and Porcupine Rivers.
Northwest Territories: The Gwich'in communities Fort McPherson (Teetl'it
Zheh), Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik and Inuvik in the Northwest Territories
are located in the region of the Mackenzie Delta.
For thousands of years, Gwich'in have relied upon the Porcupine
River Caribou Herd to meet their subsistence needs. Each spring they
watch first the pregnant cows, and later the bulls and yearlings leave
their country in their northern migration to the coastal plain of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the caribou birthing place and
nursing grounds. The Gwich'in are caribou people. The birthplace of
the Porcupine River Caribou Herd is considered Sacred. The Gwich'in
call it "Iizhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit" (The Sacred Place Where
Life Begins). The Porcupine herd is named after its spring and fall
crossings of the Porcupine River, during its annual migration. The
Porcupine Caribou herd consists of approximately 129,000 animals.
Each spring they migrate from their winter range in the boreal forests
of the Chandalar, Porcupine and Peel Rivers, north to their spring
calving and nursery grounds on the Arctic coast plain of northeastern
Alaska and Yukon. Today, as in the days of their ancestors, the
caribou is still vital for food, clothing, tools, and are a source of
respect and spiritual guidance for the Gwich'in.