Description
Gwich?in are well-known for their crafting of snowshoes, birchbark canoes, and the two-way sled. They are renowned for their intricate and ornate beadwork. They also continue to make traditional caribou-skin clothing and porcupine quillwork embroidery, both of which are highly regarded among Gwich?in. Today, the Gwich’in economy consists mostly of hunting, fishing, and seasonal wage-paying employment. Their name is sometimes spelled Kutchin or Gwitchin and translates as "one who dwells" or "resident of [a region]." Gwich?in often refer to themselves by the term Dinjii Zhuu instead of Gwich?in. Dinjii Zhuu literally translates as "Small People," but figuratively it refers to all First Nations, not just Gwich?in.
Language
The Gwich?in language belongs to the Athabaskan language family and is spoken by the Gwich'in First Nation (Canada) / Alaska Native People (United States).
Culture
The Gwich?in have a strong oral tradition of storytelling that has only recently begun to be written in the modern orthography. Gwich?in folk stories include the "Vazaagiitsak cycle" (literally, "His Younger Brother Became Snagged"), which focuses on the comical adventures of a Gwich?in misfit. Caribou are an integral part of First Nations and Inuit oral histories and legends including the Gwich?in creation story of how Gwich?in people and the caribou separated from a single entity.[12] There is a stable population of woodland caribou throughout a large portion of the Gwich?in Settlement Area and woodland caribou are an important food source for Gwich?in although they harvest them less than other caribou. The introduction of Christianity in the 1840s throughout Gwich?in territory produced spiritual changes that are still widely in effect today. Widespread conversion to Christianity, as influenced by Anglican and Catholic[18] missionaries, led to these as the two dominant Christian sects among the Gwich?in.