Yellowknife cultural area (Native American history)
The Yellowknife cultural area is significant in the context of Native American history, primarily associated with a highly mobile hunting-and-trapping society that relied on the movements of the barren-ground caribou. This cultural group maintained complex socioeconomic relationships with neighboring tribes, notably the Chipewyan and Dogrib, yet faced substantial challenges, including the decline of their population due to introduced diseases and intergroup conflicts. Historically, the Yellowknife were engaged in constant conflict with various tribes, such as the Slave and the Dogrib, which ultimately led to their diminishment as a distinct group by the early 20th century.
Their traditional winter dwellings were constructed from stitched and tanned caribou hides, highlighting their deep connection to the land and its resources. The first European contact with the Yellowknife occurred in 1770, with significant ethnographic documentation following through the early 1800s. By 1914, the Yellowknife had largely assimilated into the Chipewyan identity, reflecting the broader changes and pressures faced by Indigenous groups in the region. This overview underscores the resilience and adaptability of the Yellowknife people amid numerous challenges throughout their history.
Yellowknife cultural area (Native American history)
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Subarctic
Language group: Athapaskan
Primary location: Western Canada
This highly mobile hunting-and-trapping culture was dependent upon the movements of the barren-ground caribou, which involved them in sustained socioeconomic relations with the contiguous Chipewyan and Dogrib groups. Little is known of these people because of a general decline in population caused by introduced communicable diseases and intergroup conflict. At the time of their first contact with whites, the Yellowknife were in constant conflict with the Slave, Dogrib, and Hare; they were even fighting with the Chipewyan. Their winter dwellings were covered with stitched, tanned caribou hides. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Dogrib had expanded their aboriginal territory by defeating the Yellowknife.
The European first contact with the Yellowknife was effected in 1770 by Samuel Hearne. Later, after Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin’s 1819-1822 account, most ethnographic data was provided by the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1913, ethnologist J. Alden Mason provided brief descriptions of the Yellowknife whom he met; they were then living in canvas-covered conical lodges at Fort Resolution. By 1914 the Yellowknife had essentially lost their tribal identity, preferring to be known as Chipewyan.