INTRODUCTION

The search for food required the Northern Tutchone to lead a highly mobile existence. Each year brought a routine that was known intimately to the Northern Tutchone. In spring, hunting and trapping was the main activity. In summer, people gathered along the rivers to catch and dry salmon. Later, in autumn, the focus was once again hunting primarily for caching food for the long, hard winter. During winter small groups would ice-fish and make frequent trips to their caches. It is estimated that an individual hunter may have covered an area as large as 2500 square kilometres in a given year.

The Northern Tutchone’s nomadic existence required a form of traditional technology that was both functional and portable. Thus, the most important survival element was the knowledge possessed by the Northern Tutchone. For example, when attempting to capture fish and game, people relied more on ingenuity than strength. The deadfalls, snares, fish traps and nets used were all devices that needed only periodic checking, rather than constant attention.

Traditionally, the Northern Tutchone depended entirely upon the land for all the resources (animals, plants, stones, earth and water) they needed to survive. Nothing was wasted, as a valuable use was found for almost everything harvested in nature. Shelter was no different. Northern Tutchone needed housing materials that were portable and easy to put up. Depending on the time of year and the location, different types of shelters were needed. Using all types of materials at hand, the Northern Tutchone constructed accommodation capable of withstanding the harsh Yukon conditions.