The Gwich'in

We are one of the most northerly Aboriginal peoples on the North American continent, living at the northwestern limits of the boreal forest. Only the Inuit live further north. We are part of a larger family of Aboriginal peoples known as Athapaskans, which include the Slavey, Tłįchǫ (Dogrib), Han and Tutchone, but our language and way of life are distinct.

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  • Porcupine River

    Porcupine River, above Bluefish River, Yukon.
    Photo: S. Smith

    © Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation 2007

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  • Crow Flats

    Crow Flats, looking west towards King Edward Mountain, Yukon. Photo: S. Smith

    © Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation 2000

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  • Porcupine River

    Boat on the Porcupine River, near Crow Point, Yukon.

    © Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation 2007

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  • Boreal caribou

    Boreal caribou

    © John Nagy, Government of the Northwest Territories

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  • Grayling

    Troy Alexie with a catch of grayling up the Peel River, 1996.

    © Ingrid Kritsch, Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute

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  • Nihtavan Diniinlee

    Hyacinthe Andre telling his daughter Alestine Andre a story at Nihtavan Diniinlee, up the Arctic Red River, 1993.

    © Ingrid Kritsch, Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute

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  • Peel River

    View up the Peel River from the Tl’oondih area, 2001.

    © Barb Cameron, Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute

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  • Spruce forest

    Spruce forest in the Gwich’in Settlement Area

    © Alestine Andre, Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute

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  • Ddhah Dik’ee

    Admiring the view of a range of mountains called Ddhah Dik’ee on the Teet ł’it Gwich’in traditional trail between Fort McPherson and Dawson, 1998.

    © Ingrid Kritsch, Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute

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  • View from Edigii

    View from Edigii (Caribou Mountain), on the Teetł’it Gwich’in traditional trail between Fort McPherson and Dawson, 1998.

    © Ingrid Kritsch, Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute

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The Gwich'in Artifact Collection

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Duration: 01:09

Gwich’in Exhibit Introduction

Speaker:Karen Wright-Fraser

Gwadàl’ Zheii: Belongings from the Land has been developed in collaboration with the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (www.gwichin.ca), Northwest Territories, and the Heritage Branch of the Vuntut Gwitchin Government (www.vgfn.ca), Yukon. Explore the rich cultural heritage of the Gwich’in through artifacts, historic and contemporary photographs, and oral histories and stories told by Elders.