Tutchone

Settlement area of the southern Tutchone (darker purple in the southwest) and northern Tutchone (lighter purple) u. a. First Nations in the Yukon Territory before the arrival of the Europeans. Map (Russian) of the Lomonosov University's Linguarium project .

The Tutchone or (depending on the dialect) Dan or Dän (both: "people") (formerly: Tutchonekutchin ) are a group of Canadian First Nations in the southwest of the Yukon Territory and in northwest British Columbia, which are culturally and linguistically in divide two regional tribal groups, whereby Lake Laberge (Tàa'an Mǟn) can serve as a border:

the Northern Tutchone (four First Nations represented by the Northern Tutchone Tribal Council ) and
the Southern (Southern) Tutchone (three First Nations represented by the Southern Tutchone Tribal Council ).

Their traditional residential area comprised the plateau shaped by the upper reaches of the Alsek (Chu Nìikwän) and Yukon Rivers (Southern Tutchone: Tágà Shäw, Northern Tutchone: Tagé Cho; both: "large river") and the river basin of the Tatshenshini River (Shäwshe Chù) , bounded in the southwest by the Coast Mountains and the Saint Elias Mountains and in the northeast by the Selwyn Range .

The Tutchone belong to the Northern Athabasques , both linguistically and culturally, and their language - which is to be viewed more as a dialect continuum (mutual intelligibility decreases significantly with increasing geographical distance of the groups) - belongs to the northern branch of the Athapaskan languages , with a northern regional one Dialect group and a southern regional dialect group is distinguished. With the help of the Yukon Native Language Center , they developed their own script and published some of their stories.

Despite the previously common tribal name as Tutchonekutchin , they do not belong to the indigenous Gwich'in (Kutchin) ethnic group . The tribal name commonly used today is derived from Dechan to hot'yan ("people who live in the woods"), the Tutchone name for a band of the Northern Tutchone in the Stewart River Valley, later this was called "Tutchone" or Wood Indians or Stick Indians adopted as a collective name for all groups.

Linguistically and culturally they are very close to the neighboring Gwich'in , Han (Hän Hwëch'in) and Upper Tanana (Kohtʼiin) , which also belong to the Northern Athabasques , whereby the "Southern Tutchone Bands" from the Tlingit use some cultural techniques - and partly their language - have adopted.

history

Early history

The earliest livelihoods are likely to have been the caribou herds , but also moose, sheep and marmots, as well as rabbits and ground squirrels , which are related to ground squirrels . There were also birds and, especially along the rivers, fish - primarily salmon .

The harsh climate forced a semi-nomadic life, with families gathering in spring and summer camps to fish, but also in the short fall to hunt. Fish lakes and stores for winter provisions offered settlement centers for the cold season. The hunt started again at the end of winter.

Possibly influenced by their trading partners, the coastal Tlingit , some Tutchone also built plank houses. But most of them lived in fleeting shelters made of twigs, branches and furs. The impassable terrain and the lack of means of transport - dog sleds did not appear until the 19th century - only allowed property to be easily transported. Birch wood boxes were built for this. The clothes were also adapted to the climate and the way of life. In return, the knowledge of the places of resources became extremely important, because efficient toolmaking was hardly conceivable without these places, and neither was the supply of medicinal plants. Some families knew copper factories to make knives or arrowheads out of them, while the rest had to rely on bones and antlers or stone.

The relationship is divided into two exogamous moieties , i.e. H. It was not allowed to marry within these groups of the crow and the wolf clan, which were related through the female line. Until the 19th century it was individual or family prestige that produced chiefs or heads of families.

In the course of the 19th century, another factor was wealth, which came about through trade with the Tlingit or through marriage. Above all, the coastal Tutchones were included in the Tlingit clans.

Shamans excelled as healers and were responsible for influencing and establishing contact with spiritual powers. These helped to find hunting prey or to fight diseases.

European influence

Jim Boss (1871–1950) traditional chief of the Ta'an Kwach'an from Lake Lebarge, who belong to the Southern Tutchone , photographed in 1950 in full regalia. He was already trading in firewood, fish and furs at the time of the Klondike gold rush . The photograph is a gift from Fred Boss to Rolf Hougen

The fur trade of the Hudson's Bay Company , but also the Tlingit, encouraged winter hunting, so that the phases of settlement became shorter. This in turn promoted the dispersal of families in the vast area.

In addition, there were conflicts in connection with the gold rush on the Klondike (1896–1898). But the construction of the Alaska Highway changed the way of life of the Tutchones much more dramatically from 1942 onwards. Since then, their economic basis has increasingly been based on wage labor, but they still live partially by hunting and gathering.

Land claims

Like many Indian tribes, the Tutchone never signed a contract. Tribal leaders like Elijah Smith (d. 1991), Paul Birckel and Harry Allen therefore co-founded the Council of Yukon First Nations . It emerged from the Council for Yukon Indians, which emerged as a negotiating body for land claims . In 1980 he joined the Yukon Native Brotherhood and the Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians to form the Council for Yukon Indians . This calls for self government.

With the adoption of a new constitution, he changed his name to Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN). It includes 11 First Nations from the Yukon region. Nine member tribes have meanwhile been able to conclude contracts on land claims and self-government.

In 1995, Tutchone became Judy Gingell Commissioner of Yukon .

Today's Tutchone First Nations

Today, a total of eight Tutchone First Nations are officially recognized as tribes by the Canadian government; according to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada , these First Nations currently (July 2020) have a total of 4,400 tribesmen. Most of the time, the Tutchone make up the majority, only in the case of the "White River First Nation (WRFN)" are the Upper Tanana Athabasks the dominant indigenous ethnic group.

Northern Tutchone

Northern Tutchone Tribal Council

First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun (own name: Nacho Nyäk Dun - "people on the great river, ie the Stewart River", other Tutchones called them Dechan to Hot'yan - "people who live in the woods"; administrative seat: Mayo ; Population July 2020: 547) (Northern Tutchone, Kaska, Tahltan, Tagish and Gwich'in)
Little Salmon / Carmacks First Nation (own name: Tagé Cho Hudän - "People on the Great River"; administrative headquarters: Carmacks; population July 2020: 680)
Selkirk First Nation (own name: Hućha Hudän - "People of the Plains", as the landscape around Fort Selkirk is flat along both river banks; administrative seat: Pelly Crossing ; population July 2020: 661)

Independent First Nations

White River First Nation (WRFN) (administrative headquarters: Beaver Creek ; Population July 2020: 159) ( Scottie Creek Band and Beaver Creek Band of the Upper Tanana Athabasken, Dzäntuchʼǟn ("Snag Band") of the Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone)

Southern Tutchone

Southern Tutchone Tribal Council

Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) (own name: Shadhäla yè Äshèyi Kwädän ; administrative headquarters: Haines Junction (Dakwäkäda) ; population July 2020: 735 (Champagne) + 191 (Aishihik) - total: 926) (consisting of two First Nations: the Kwächä̀l Kwächʼǟn ("Champagne First Nation") and Äshèyi Kwächʼǟn ("Aishihik First Nation") - as well as several unofficially recognized bands: Chu ʼEna kwächʼǟn / Chu Yena kwächʼǟn ("Hutchi / Hutshi Lakes Volk"), Łughną ( Kwächʼuǟ Volk "), Łughną ( Kwächʼuǟ Volk." "), Łuchʼǟn or Shäwshe (" Dalton Post Volk ") and the Titlʼàt kwächʼǟn (" Dezadeash River Volk "))

Kluane First Nation (own name: Lù'àn Män Ku Dän or Lù'àn Mun Ku Dän - "Kluane Lake Volk"; administrative seat: Burwash Landing ; population July 2020: 176) (Southern Tutchone, Upper Tanana, Northern Tutchone, Tlingit)

Ta'an Kwäch'än Council (own name: Ta'an Kwäch'än - "Lake Laberge Volk"; administrative seat: Whitehorse (Kwänlin) ; population July 2020: 280) (Southern Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit)