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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