Gwich'in

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gwich'in people are a group of people who live in Alaska and Canada, above the Arctic Circle.

Name[change | change source]

The Gwich'in call themselves the Dinjii Zhuu, which means "small people" in their language.

Language[change | change source]

The Gwich'in have their own language. It is split into two dialects, the Canadian and the American dialects. However, not many of them speak it as they now use English. In Alaska, only 300 Gwich'in know how to speak Gwich'in.[1]

Caribou[change | change source]

The caribou is a very important animal in Gwich'in culture.[2] Some of them call themselves the caribou people.[3]: 70 

References[change | change source]

  1. "Gwichʼin". Alaska Native Language Center. University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  2. Mishler, Craig (2014), "Linguistic Team Studies Caribou Anatomy", Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCOS), archived from the original on 10 February 2016, retrieved 11 January 2015
  3. Bass, Rick (2004). Caribou Rising: Defending the Porcupine Herd, Gwich-'in Culture, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (1st ed.). San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN 9781578051144.