Oral History Project Final Report
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GWICH'IN TERRITORIAL PARK (CAMPBELL LAKE) ORAL HISTORY PROJECT FINAL REPORT Annie & Nap Norbert at T1thegeh chl' OR Gwl'eekajlchlt Elders: Lucy Adams Hyacinthe Andre Gabe Andre Antoine Andre Victor Allen Pierre Benoit Billy Day Harry Harrison Fred John Mary Kailek Annie Norbert Prepared for Dept. of Economic Development and Tourism (GNWT) Contract No. 312851 By Ingrid D. Kritsch, Gwich'in Social & Cultural Institute December 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................ 1 2. METHODOLOGY Methodology Used ........................................ 3 Elders Interviewed ........................................ 4 3. GWICHY A GWICH'IN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF CAMPBELL LAKE ...................................... 10 Place Names . .1 0 Resources and Travel Routes .............................12 4. INUVIALUIT TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF CAMPBELL LAKE .............................................. 14 Place Names .............................................14 Resources and Travel Routes .............................14 5. PLACE NAMES COLLECTED FOR THE CAMPBELL LAKE AREA ......................................................... 16 Introduction ..............................................16 Gwichya Gwich'in, lnuvialuit and English Place Names ............................................ 17 6. RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................... 45 REFERENCES CITED ........................................... 49 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is the product of many people's efforts. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and thank the lnuvialuit and Gwich'in Elders who shared their knowledge about the Gwich'in Territorial Park area: Lucy Adams, Victor Allen, Gabe Andre, Hyacinthe Andre, Tony Andre, Pierre Benoit, Billy Day, Harry Harrison, Fred John, Mary Kailek and Annie Norbert. It was a privilege for me to hear their stories and to be trusted with the responsibility of conveying them to the public. I hope that I have been able to present the information that they provided in an accurate and readible format. This work could not have been carried out without three community researchers who were colleagues in the research process: Billy Day, Agnes Mitchell and William Greenland. Billy Day wore two hats, so to speak, as both community researcher and Elder. It was a pleasure to work with them. I would like to acknowledge and thank Eleanor Mitchell and William George Firth (Gwich'in interpreter for the Dept. of Education, Culture and Employment office in Fort McPherson) for their assistance in transcribing the Gwich'in place names. Many thanks also to Miriam Juniper who assisted with the transcriptions. Thanks also go to the following people who provided advice, assistance and shared their information about the Mackenzie Delta at various stages of the project: Robert Alexie Jr. (Gwich'in Tribal Council), Joey Amos (lnuvik Community Corporation), Greg Cayen (Gwich'in Tribal Council), Ron Cruikshank (Gwich'in Interim Land Use Planning Board), Alan Fehr (lnuvik Research Centre), Willard Hagen (Gwich'in Tribal Council), Elisa Hart (Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre), Bart Kreps (Gwich'in Geographies Ltd.), Les Kutny (lnuvik Research Centre), Murielle Nagy (University of Alberta), Jean-Luc Pilon (Canadian Museum of Civilization), Tommy Wright (Gwich'in Tribal Council), Jimm Simon (GNWT Dept. of Economic Development and Tourism), Bob Simpson (Gwich'in Tribal Council) and Bob Turner (Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre). Special thanks are also extended to Tom Andrews (Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre) and Alestine Andre (Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute) who reviewed and offered comments on drafts of this report. Ingrid Kritsch Director Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute, Tsiigehtchic GWICH'IN TERRITORIAL PARK ORAL HISTORY PROJECT 1993/94 1. INTRODUCTION The Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement provided for the establishment of a territorial park near Campbell Lake, 15 kilometres southeast of lnuvik, and directed the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Government of the Northwest Territories to negotiate the terms and boundaries of the Park. The Gwich'in Territorial Park was created in November 1991 with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Gwich'in Tribal Council. The park was established to "provide opportunities for tourism and recreation, as well as enjoyment, education and appreciation of the natural and cultural heritage of the Northwest Territories" (Section 1.2 of Memorandum of Agreement, November 7, 1991 ). The Memorandum of Agreement also charged government "to co-operate with and involve the people of the surrounding area in the planning and management of the park" (Section 2.3 of MOA, November 7, 1991). In keeping with the spirit of this agreement, the Gwich'in Tribal Council negotiated a contract with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in July 1993, to "conduct, tape, transcribe and where possible, ground truth elders on the traditional use of the Campbell Lake area." This oral history information would be used in the development of a masterplan for the park. By taking an active role in gathering interpretive information for the park, the Tribal Council ensured that the Gwich'in and lnuvialuit perspectives of life in the park area were recorded and disseminated. This is the final report of the 1993/94 Gwich'in Territorial Park (Campbell Lake) Oral History Project, and fulfills the terms of the contract. The report is presented in two volumes. Volume I provides an introduction to the project, discusses the project methodology, summarizes the oral history data pertinent to the park and provides a detailed explanation of each place name. Volume II comprises the oral history transcripts prepared in the spring of 1994. The oral history as embodied in the place names, stories, trails, harvesting locales, cabins and traditional camp sites are a window into the past and proof of the rich cultural heritage of this area. It shows that the park area was part of an important travel route for the Gwich'in and lnuvialuit between the Mackenzie Delta and the Arctic Coast. It was also an area in which both peoples hunted, trapped and fished. Besides the information presented in this report about the park area, there is much information within the transcripts about the area beyond the park which speaks about life in the Delta, the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who moved into the area in the early 1900's, the harvesting resources, and the fur trade. It is my hope that this information will also be incorporated into future documentation about the park. Page 1 GWICH'IN TERRITORIAL PARK ORAL HISTORY PROJECT 1993/94 The purpose of this final report is to ensure that Gwich'in and lnuvialuit traditional knowledge and use of the park area is documented and is readily accessible to the public. Page 2 GWICH'IN TERRITORIAL PARK ORAL HISTORY PROJECT 1993/94 2. METHODOLOGY Methodology Used The information presented in this report is based on oral history information provided by Gwichya Gwich'in Elders in Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik and lnuvik, and by lnuvialuit Elders in lnuvik. This oral history project was carried out during the winter of 1993/1994. The research team was composed of an Anthropologist (the author) and three community researchers. The Anthropologist was responsible for coordinating the project, working with the community researchers to record the information, photographing the Elders, transcribing the tapes and writing the draft and final reports. The Gwich'in community researchers were William Greenland of lnuvik and Agnes Mitchell of Tsiigehtchic. The lnuvialuit community researcher was Billy Day of lnuvik. The community researchers helped determine which Elders were knowledgeable about the Campbell Lake area and willing to share their knowledge. They set up interviews, assisted in interviewing the Elders and translated when necessary. The interviewing was carried out over the course of two visits that were made to the Delta, on November 22- December 2, 1993 and February 1 - 7, 1994. Altogether, eleven Elders (including Billy Day) shared their knowledge about the Campbell Lake area. Gwichya Gwich'in Elders were primarily interviewed from November 24 - December 2, 1993. One Gwich'in Elder from Tsiigehtchic who was not available at this time, was interviewed on February 4, 1994 during the author's second visit. This second visit to the community was used to verify data collected during the first visit. Further verification occurred in the summer of 1994 during the course of a separate place names and oral history project carried out with Gwichya Gwich'in Elders about the Delta.1 lnuvialuit Elders were interviewed from February 2 - 6, 1994. Most interviews were conducted in the Elder's home over tea or coffee. One interview was carried out in the lnuvik Hunter's and Trapper's office. Two sets of laminated maps at 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 scales were used to record the place names, trails and camps or cabins. The interviews with the Elders were carried out mainly in English. With two exceptions, interviews were tape recorded. One Elder, Fred John, was willing to be interviewed but did not wish to be recorded. Mary Kailek was also willing to be interviewed but her interview, which was conducted in lnuvialuktun with Billy Day, was not recorded. Billy Day provided a written English summary of the interview. 1 Gwichya Gwich'in Place Names in the Gwich'in Settlement Area-