Gwich'in Name

  • Teetł’it Gwich’in Name:

    Eneech’ùh chihvyàh
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  • Gwichya Gwich’in Name:

    Eneech’ìdh chihvyàh
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  • Vuntut Gwitchin Name:

    K’àii neech’ùh chihvyàh
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“Before the white people came into this country, we made fish nets out of willow bark ... The only thing about those fish nets was they had to be in water all the time to keep soaked. They were much stronger than the nylon nets you get today.” — Lucy Vaneltsi, Teetł’it Gwich’in Elder, 1970s

Catalogue Data

Materials: willow bark
Dimensions: L. approx. 9.5 m; W. approx. 1 m
Date: probably ca. 1885
Collected by: Richard G. McConnell, Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories, 1888
Catalogue Number: CMCC VI-I-16

Manufacture and Use

  • About the Artifact

    “In the old days, fish nets were made from the inner bark of the willow. The preparation of this cordage was a...

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  • About the Collector

    Richard McConnell was a geologist with the Geological Survey of Canada. In 1887–1888 he explored northern British...

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  • Oral History

    “When there was no twine, we use[d] k’aiineech’uu [willow bark] in the springtime, when the willows are...

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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.