Gwich'in Name

  • Teetł’it Gwich’in Name:

    Vyàh
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  • Gwichya Gwich’in Name:

    Vàdzaih gyą̀ą’
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  • Vuntut Gwitchin Name:

    Vadzaih vyàh
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“They made rope, real strong rope, out of caribou skin ... They set a whole bunch of snares right around that [caribou] corral ... All the caribou ran into that big corral, and they got caught in that snare ...” — Roddy Peters, Teetł’it Gwich’in Elder, 1970s
“When ... the caribou migrate [August and September], that’s the time they make those corrals. And in springtime, I think they mostly use snare[s] on their trail ... where they cross the rivers, creeks, that’s where they have caribou-skin snares.” — Walter Alexie, Teetł’it Gwich’in Elder, 1996

Catalogue Data

Materials: caribou rawhide thong (babiche)
Dimensions: approx. L. 3.2 m
Collected by: Douglas Leechman, Old Crow, Yukon, summer 1946
Catalogue Number: CMCC VI-I-27

Manufacture and Use

  • About the Artifact

    “Caribou were often caught in snares twisted from six strands of caribou babiche. More would prevent its...

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  • About the Collector

    Douglas Leechman (1891–1980) was an anthropologist at the National Museum of Canada (now the Canadian Museum of...

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  • Oral history

    “[This is] another short story of Timber Creek. People used to move up ahead of Timber Creek in the fall time,...

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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.