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OF TR AILS OUR ANCESTORS Building a Nation EDITED BY JOHN B. ZOE TESSA M ACINTOSH / TLICHO GOVERNM ENT TESSA MACINTOSH / MARCH 2007 D Tohf iosEu brDo EoldkI eCisr, dHAeadTrircya IStOeimd pNtoso tnh eo fm emory PREFACE Gamètì who worked tirelessly and TRAILS OF OUR ANCESTORS: BUILDING A NATION faithfully to pass on the knowledge and ways of our Ancestors. We mourn each passing Elder and hold dear to their wisdom. Our Tlicho history is embedded in the landscape in Let's celebrate the transfer of ancient knowledge of the Mahsi-cho. place names. It is interpreted by our Elders who have Elders to the youth. Travelling by canoe, the youth first hand experience of life on the land. The Elders honour their ancestors and experience the traditional talk about how people headed north to the barrens spirit that will carry them beyond the many challenges by canoe in the fall to harvest caribou for food and of today. hides for clothing, equipment and shelter. They talk about travel back below the treeline, to live with the It is our hope that this book shows how we continue to abundance of caribou in the winter. In the spring, practice our traditions over the generations and that it the Elders tell of travel to familiar fishing grounds by plants the spirit in our future generations to strengthen birchbark canoe. and celebrate our language, culture and way of life. The Elders talk about the seasonal nomadic lifestyle; Massi Cho FRONT COVER/MAIN PHOTO: Tlicho encampment on Stoney Island in 1913. Photo by John Alden Mason/Canadian Museum of Civilzation 26010. about the hardships, and the sorrows marked by burial sites. The land and place names also remind the Elders Chiefs' Executive Council | Tlicho Government FRONT COVER/BOTTOM PHOTO: Trails of our Ancestors canoe trip at Gamètì in 2004. Photo by Tessa Macintosh/ Tlicho Government. of renewal of spirit, abundance, and gatherings to renew kinship, revive stories and share knowledge. WEAVING ON FRONT COVER: Tlicho porcupine quill weaving pattern. Original weaving collected in the 1930s by Trader George Buffum Family. Original photo by Susan Irving/Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. 987.94.1 Canoes were significant in charting the history of who we are as Tlicho. We continue to keep this history alive by traveling the trails of our ancestors to our annual gatherings, today. i00BG0ttnnoh1e23ea e.2w..chm eF0JEm corTlv0èheaaheå5tboînnìnn.c rkkyi ahnBaöi petô .s 2e ao NZ0i Slrtnolei0th t eatld0sefh’gi-a .szecGe yaoc sssoa m t avbgnrreioeoonrrnhinegnvgi e emndoe sdbefer a pynthf,htaot i merr t s TESSA MACINTOSH / TLICHO GOVERNMENT01. 0MADELAINE CHOCOLATE / TRADITIONAL KNOW2. TESSA MACINTOSH / TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE the arrival of the canoes at a LEDGE destination is always an exciting event attended by everyone in 03. the community of Wekweètì near the barrenlands in 2002. TESSA M ACINTOSH / TLICHO GOVERNM ENT TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation .............................................................. 03 JOHN B. ZOE CHAPTER 2 Strong Like Two People ......................................................................................... 13 JOHN B. ZOE CHAPTER 3 Trails: Archaeology and the Dogrib Cultural Landscape .......................................... 21 Elder Marie Quitte’s beadwork on traditional smoke-tanned moosehide. THOMAS D. ANDREWS / JOHN B. ZOE CHAPTER 4 Yamozhah: Dogrib Sacred Sites and the Anthropology of Travel .............................. 29 THOMAS D. ANDREWS / JOHN B. ZOE / AARON HERTER CHAPTER 5 Traditional Knowledge .......................................................................................... 33 ALLICE LEGAT CHAPTER 6 Memories: Reflections of a Magical Journey ........................................................... 45 TAMMY STEINWAND Terminology and Placenames ................................................................................ 50 References ............................................................................................................ 51 Endnotes .............................................................................................................. 53 Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 01 01. Fireworks light up the sky on 01. 02. Tåîchô get into their handmade birch bark canoes with years of precision at Behchokö in 1913-14. Aefufegc 4ti,v 2e0ly0 h5a, vthee s edlaf-yg tohvee Trnåîmcehnôt TESSA M TESSA M tp0sbmtooh2riar oo.msc ntuahAe alybhlcdnp auttea hhnrtrkgohest i enechnle isatigreashn c sceosQutamie.lrunt ; auir otaelrtel see t ho.ri esaau adlnricsigdteihlimsyot na-awandldee oi gnhet- ACINTOSH/ TLICHO GOVERNMENT ACINTOSH / TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE R ONE E 03. Women in canoes at 03. 04. T Behchokö in 1913. tsrT0gehu4uåpeîna.c rrfTrehioahssôuenee rt nflas ectyane omCgdimnh b–tgimho e Tetfluhhi sMflneemio ttôTw ieoenånîifsfnc t,wts ghht h riôer’eesi vpnw weeraerwo ysre donsft JOHN ALDEN MASON/CMC TESSA MACINTOSH/ TLICHO GOVERNMENT CHAP life and the North Star represents the new era. JOHN B. ZOE OF TR AILS OUR ANCESTORS: Building a Nation Tåîchô For centuries the of the Northwest Territories have relied on an intimate Tåîchô knowledge of the land and its wildlife to survive. The lived in a yearly cycle of following traditional trails in birchbark canoes to the barren lands in the fall to harvest the caribou herd; and then heading below the tree-line for the long northern winter until the warmth and life of spring returns. The skills required to survive this lifestyle were taught through the oral tradition, by elders to the youth, through hands on experience while living and traveling in the Tåîchô bush. With the language so intimately connected to the land, elders passed on place names, animal names, cultural and spiritual sites and the language of the land to the next generations. However, this nomadic style of living began to decline as the influences of the modern 'western society' and government moved into the north. The government JOHN ALDEN M sreloliwanlyt boeng faunn tdoi ntagk aen cdo nwterlofla oref ttoh es ulirvveisv eo fi nth teh eT nåîecwh ôs oacniedt yso. Tono dthaye, pmeeomplbe ewrse roef the ASON / CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION 26142 TaTannååîîddcc clhhalôôan sgNhsuraaoavtogeiom eb noe- bfel inatvhs eaee bmd Ts soeåcnsîhtctl ohyao ôsi ln pipn etegoho.pe pTh llceeo neam orte mrl aondunoingtwiieto ritne htsarr;la e vcaheutaellv tnteuoe rgedene. tathenreder d toe inan ctthohi ean lgwa npadrgo.e c Theecsosee ncsou omlft uyth ree Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 03 01. 02. 03. Herbert A. Tremagne / Hudson Bay Company 1979-53-377 MADELAINE CHOCOLATE / TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE CHARLES KEEFER / LIBRARY ARCHIVES CANADA PA-073748 01. Tåîchô at Behchokö in 1910. 02. Canoes ready to depart Gamètì in 2000. 03. Tåîchô treaty dance till early morning at Fort Rae in 1937. Tåîchô dances are intended as a participatory recognition of the entire group. This particular dance was without drums. People all chanted together facing inward toward the centre and side-stepping in a sun-wise direction. In 1990, a plan to implement a vision was developed: The second year a group of paddlers traveled the Trails Funding continued from the Primate's World Relief In August 2003 the Prime Minister of Canada, Behchokö Wekweètì The vision of Chief Jimmy Bruneau to teach the youth of Ours Ancestors from (Rae) to and Development Fund in 1999 and 2000. Since 2001 Premier of the Northwest Territories and Grand Tåîchô Tåîchô of the Nation in two ways; the way of the new passing through the Barren lands. the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council has been able to secure Chief and Chiefs of the Nation signed the Tåîchô Behchokö society being slowly imposed on the people and the a more stable and continuous funding source that has Agreement in . Again many people traditional practices passed on for generations on the Unfortunately in 1997 the program fell apart, due to allowed the Trails of Ours Ancestors program to continue traveled by canoe to attend this event in 2004. For the past. The idea of the Trails of Ours Ancestors program communication problems with a sponsor. Faced with to grow and develop. first time the Trails of Our Ancestors program saw over was initiated. losing the tradition and intent of the trip, the Dogrib 200 delegates travel by boat from the communities Tåîchô Whatì Wekweètì Behchokö Treaty 11 Council, to keep the program alive, sent In 2001 the Grand Chief of the Nation, who of , and to the Annual Behchokö Gamètì. Around the same time the Dogrib Treaty 11 a small group with four canoes from to has spent many years of his life traveling the trails of Gathering in Wekweètì Council, Government of Canada and the Northwest . This did not, however, involve students, as his people, joined the Trails of Our Ancestors program Behchokö Wekweètì Territories were in the early stages of negotiating the only eight seats were available in total. and paddled from to . His Many parallels can be made between the development Tåîchô Agreement. Meetings were being held in influence has helped provide the link and recognition of the Trails of Our Ancestors program and the journey Tåîchô the communities, Yellowknife and in the South. In 1998 the Primate's World Relief and of Trails of Our Ancestors as part of the the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council has made to reach Tåîchô The Agreement was the desire of the people to help Development Fund joined in partnership with the Agreement and its part as a bridge to the traditions the Agreement. But the most important is Tåîchô protect language, culture and way of life. Dogrib Treaty 11 Council and Dogrib Community of the past. that the Agreement and the Trails of Our Services Board and provided significant funding Ancestors program both encourage the preservation and Whatì Tåîchô Tåîchô In 1995, the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council in partnership that has allowed the trips to be revived and grow. In 2002 at a historic ceremony in , the revitalization of the language and culture and Tåîchô with the Dogrib Community Services Board (at that The Trails of Ours Ancestors have now been paddled people celebrated the initialing of the the Building of a Nation. Tåîchô time the Divisional Board of Education) managed to between all the communities, sometimes on Agreement. After twelve years and many meetings and Tåîchô secure funding for the first Trails of Ours Ancestors canoe trails that have not been traveled in close to half a discussions, the people have now completed trip. The first group paddled the 15-day journey from century. Today hundreds of youth and elders have the negotiation of self-government and land claim Behchokö Gamètì (Rae-Edzo) to and arrived to a huge had the opportunity to travel the trails. agreement: An Agreement that will be the foundation celebration as the festivities of the Annual Assembly for the future of a nation. Many people traveled by Whatì got under way. canoe to to attend this historic event. Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 05 CHARLES KEEFER / LIBRARY ARCHIVES CANADA PA-073999 01. 02. 03. 04. ABOVE. Tåîchô feast for Fur Trade Commission at Fort Rae in 1937. Summer is always a time to gather and celebrate. HENRY BUSSE. ? PWNHC. N-1979-052-1817 DEPT OF INTERIOR / PWNHC 1979-001-0164 JOHN RUSSELL / NWT ARCHIVES N-1979-073-0341 JOHN RUSSELL / NWT ARCHIVES N-1979-073-0544 Dii sa eæaa sìi k’èt’à naèhdô-le îdè dii deh nîîlîî sìi k’èt’à naèhdlî-le “ 01. Tåîchô Family paddle 02. Old Church at Behchokö 03. Treaty tent at Fort Rae in 04. Large Gathering at Schooner nidè dii dè nàgoèhdô-le nîdè, asìi gogha wets’aet’ô hoîlî ha-le … fully loaded canoe including in 1924. 1925. Every year since Treaty 11 Landing, Behchokö / Fort Rae four dogs. was signed by Chief Monfwi in in 1923. 1921, Tåîchô have gathered to As long as the sun shines and the river flows and the land does not change, honour their agreement with the crown and the Government of we will not be restricted from our way of life.” Canada. Since 2005, they gather to celebrate self-government. Mônfwi (Chief – 1921) Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 07 01. 02. 03. PHILIP MERCREDI / NATIVE COMMUNICATION SOCIETY-71-40-20A RENE FUMOLEAU / NWT ARCHIVES N-1995-002-6816 JUNE HELM / NWT ARCHIVES N-2003-037-0349 01. Alexis Arrowmaker, left, playing handgames at Behchokö in 1971. 02. Grand Chief Joe Rabesca and the North Slave Delegation at a Dene 03. Two motorized canvas canoes loaded with people, dogs and gear at a portage between Behchokö and Whatì. Nation Assembly at Délîne in 1985. BELOW. Like an armada, the incoming flotilla of canoes from the ‘Trails of Our Ancestors’ is a vision of pride for the Tåîchô, almost like an apparition of the Ancestors themselves. With many anxious to take their turn, the canoe trips are like a rite of passage for every Tåîchô citizen, and revitalizes everyone concerned. TESSA MACINTOSH / TLICHO GOVERNMENT Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 09 01. NATIVE COM Traditional Tea Dance at Behchokö in 1976. M UNICATION SOCIETY-71-44-20A 02. JUNE HELM / PW NHC 2003-037-0391 03. TESSA M ACINTOSH / TLICHO GOVERNM ENT 04. TESSA M ACINTOSH / TLICHO GOVERNM ENT 01. President of the Indian Brotherhood of the NWT, James Wah-Shee speaks at the first Dene Nation Assembly which took place at Behchokö in 1971. 02. Handgames with Chief Jimmy Bruneau ( in banded hat) at Behchokö in 1962. 03. August 4, 2005 is a day to remember, to commemorate whhdopaferiig atanghnydro eitgctvfraeaee srrlmrteoine mencms,og oaefn.enntge ytard,,a litalnte ulngaeld vatd hetaaile osnd finc reusr,e m f,r om MUNICATION SOCIETY-76-616-12A M uWA0n4rarv.o heTw-ihSlmeehd ean ebek eywa rni ,tT dståw îdrcaoehi sswôieg hfldno aeb gdry e JiAsad lmiecxaeistse d WE CHRETIEN / NATIVE CO their lives to making this TAP memorable day a reality. Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 11 The midnight sun casts a warm glow on the still waters along the "Trails of our Ancestors". O W T R E T P A H C STRONG JOHN B. ZOE L I K E T W O P E O P L E Tåîchô The boat trips we have taken to date have always been considered to be a vision by the people to become “Strong like two people”. To understand how and why that vision came about, we must look to the past and see it through the eyes of the Elders who were there. They remember young people being strong physically and spiritually; determined yet flexible; independent yet cautious; able to read the environment for survival, youth who recognize the limits of their capability, and work as part of a community. Our Elders of the past, like Chief Jimmy Bruneau, saw these things and realized that the MACINTOSH future held challenges that would alter what they had known in their time. TESSA Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 13 AARON HERTER RICHARD FINNIE / PWNHC 1979-063-004701. 0TESSA MACINTOSH / TLICHO GEVERNMENT2. 01. Chief Jimmy Bruneau, who gave his name to the 02. Elizabeth Mackenzie, receipient of the Governor General's Award, high school in Edzo. in Behchokö in 2005. Imagine in 1893 when an American graduate, Frank Russell, from the Tåîchô University of Iowa, came to country in search of a muskox specimen he could take home with him. In his journal he talks about the trip he made to Ewaànit’ii tì the edge of the woods on the shore of Courageous Lake/ . There, Tåîchô tì he was in a encampment a few portages from Lac de Gras/Eka in the late winter with a dogteam. It was the camp of Ek’awi Dzimi, the father of the late Chief Jimmy Bruneau. Chief Jimmy Bruneau was about six years old when he saw this man writing in his journal and heard the language he spoke. He probably didn’t know what was going on at the time but it definitely left an impression on his mind. The camp probably talked about this strange man and reviewed his brief excursion with them through stories, and determined that there would likely be more encounters with strangers. In 1913, when Bruneau was twenty-five years old, he accompanied another American, David Wheeler, to the edge of Snare Lake by dogteam. He spent many days with him listening and watching him write with pen and paper. This left another long lasting impression on his mind. There were many similar excursions over the years. Mônfwi In 1921, his uncle Chief sat across from the Treaty Commissioner to talk about Treaty. He witnessed the power of the pen and paper and of the Tåîchô written word and realized the influence it would have on the . ABOVE. Canoes come ashore in 1995. Trails of our Ancestors: Building a Nation 15
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