Tutchone
The Tutchone are an Indigenous people primarily located in the Yukon Territory, with a population of approximately 1,145 as of 2021. They belong to the Athabaskan language family and have two main dialects: Northern Tutchone and Southern Tutchone. Traditionally organized into two moieties known as Crow and Wolf, the Tutchone have a matrilineal social structure and historically lived in rectangular log dwellings that reflect their highly mobile lifestyle. Their subsistence practices include hunting caribou, moose, and mountain goats, as well as fishing and gathering local vegetation and berries.
European contact began in the mid-19th century, leading to significant changes in their way of life, particularly with the fur trade and later gold prospecting during the Klondike Gold Rush. Today, the Tutchone are represented by several First Nations, including the Nacho Nyak Dun and Champagne and Aishihik, among others, and many are engaged in efforts to revitalize their language and culture. Additionally, some Tutchone groups are pursuing land claims and self-government, reflecting a contemporary push for recognition and preservation of their heritage.
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Tutchone
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Subarctic
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Athabaskan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Yukon Territory
- POPULATION SIZE: 1,145 (2021 Canada Statistics)
The highly mobile, matrilineal Tutchone were historically organized into two exogamous moieties, whose names translate into English as Crow and Wolf, and they lived in coastal-type rectangular dwellings of logs. The Tutchone language has two distinct varieties, Northern Tutchone and Southern Tutchone, both of which belong to the Athabaskan language family. Subsistence was gained primarily through hunting caribou, moose, and mountain goat and the trapping of smaller land mammals. Migratory waterfowl were taken, in addition to freshwater fish and salmon. Some gathering of vegetable foods and berries supplemented the Tutchone diet.
The first European Canadian contact with the Tutchone was made by Robert Campbell of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1842; he established Fort Selkirk in 1848. In 1874, White traders reentered the area and established Fort Reliance for the fur trade. Thousands of gold prospectors arrived in 1898, but by 1900, only a few continued to mine for gold, silver, and copper. With the collapse of the fur trade in the 1930s, woodcutting became a main source of income for many Tutchone families. Surface and subsurface mining attracted non-Indigenous populations, which was facilitated by the 1942 Alaskan Highway.
Contemporary Tutchone members are divided into the Northern Tutchone and the Southern Tutchone, each comprising three distinct First Nations. In the Northern Tutchone group are the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, whose name means "big river people"; Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation, also called Tagé Cho Hudän, which also means "big river people"; and Selkirk First Nation, also called Hućha Hudän, "flatland people." The Southern Tutchone group consists of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations; the Ta'an Kwach'an, "people of Lake Laberge"; and the Kluane First Nation, also called Lù'àn Män Ku Dän, "Kluane Lake people." In the twenty-first century, some of these First Nations groups have pursued land claims settlements with the Canadian government and achieved self-government. Efforts are also underway to revitalize the language and further preserve Tutchone culture.
Bibliography
Champagne and Aishihik First Nations: 2013–14 Annual Report. Whitehorse: Integraphics, 2014. Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2013-14‗CAFN‗Annual‗Report‗revised.pdf. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
“Find out about Yukon First Nations.” Yukon, yukon.ca/en/about-yukon-first-nations. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
McClellan, Catharine. “Tutchone.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 11 May 2015, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tutchone. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
McClellan, Catharine. "Tutchone." Handbook of North American Indians, edited by William C. Sturtevant, vol. 6, Smithsonian Institution, 1981, pp. 493-505. June Helm, volume editor.
"Tutchone (Dän k'í / Dän k'è)." Omniglot, 21 Apr. 2023, www.omniglot.com/writing/tutchone.htm. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
"Yukon First Nations Languages." Council of Yukon First Nations Self-Government Secretariat, sgsyukon.ca/language-initiatives/yukon-first-nations-languages/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.