Gwich'in
From Freepedia
Image:Gwich'in family outside home.jpg The Gwich'in (sometimes rendered as Kutchin or Gwitchin), literally "one who dwells", are a First Nations/Native American people who live in the northwestern part of North America mostly above the Arctic Circle. The Gwich'in were also known by the French name of Loucheux or Loucheaux in historical documents, as well as the Tukudh used by missionaries. Many Gwich'in speak their indigenous Gwich'in language.
Caribou is traditionally a major component of their diet. Many Gwich'in people are dependent on the Porcupine Caribou Herd which calves on the coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Gwich'in people have been very active in protesting and lobbying agains the possibility of oil-drilling in the ANWR.
There are approximately 7,000 Gwich'in in 15 small communities in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory of Canada, and in northern Alaska. Gwich'in communities include:
- Inuvik, Northwest Territories
- Aklavik, Northwest Territories
- Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories
- Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories (formerly Arctic Red River)
- Old Crow, Yukon (Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation)
- Beaver, Alaska
- Circle, Alaska
- Fort Yukon, Alaska
- Chalkyitsik, Alaska
- Birch Creek, Alaska
- Arctic Village, Alaska
- Venetie, Alaska
External links
- Gwich'in Council International
- Vuntut Gwitchin web site (Yukon)]
- Gwich'in Tribal Council web site (Northwest Territories)
- Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute
Categories: Ethnic group stubs | Alaska Native tribes | First Nations in the Yukon | First Nations in the Northwest Territories
