Old Crow is 128 km (80 miles) north of the Arctic Circle along the Porcupine River.

Old Crow became part of my heart before I had even been there. While I was searching for information on "Gwich'in" and "Athabascan"* fiddling, fate had me land on the website for Old Crow in Canada -- a place 80 miles north of the arctic circle, in isolation without any roads going in. The more I read about the Gwich'in in Old Crow from their website, the more I wanted to know. I called an Alaskan Gwich'in fiddler, Bill Stevens, he sent me a copy of The Crooked Stovepipe, a book about Athabascan fiddling which was written by a man who had spent a lot of time in Old Crow and around Gwich'in. I was absolutely enchanted with the fiddling customs and potlaches.. Soon I was overcome with an urge to visit.

So off I went to Old Crow. Aside from music and meeting people, I wasn't sure what I would learn, but I came away with an intensely personal perspective on Gwich'in culture, including the relationship with the caribou, and with the land, and traditions.

The Vuntut Gwitchin have modernized many aspects of daily life, but it is more of a supplement to the traditional culture which is dominant -- a culture which they are fighting to preserve. The traditional ways have prevailed for 24,000 years.

The elders are actively involved in the archival of their stories and traditions and the language is still being taught in school, along with English.

*Athabascan=language group of First People in Alaska and NW Canada  Gwich'in=language (Gwich'in Athapaskan)      Race=First Nation (first/aboriginal people) Nation=Gwich'in ("Caribou People"; "people";"dweller of") Band=Vuntut Gwitchin (meaning "People of the Lakes") VGFN=Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

• The Vuntut Gwitchin are part of the Gwich'in Nation which includes 19 communities across Alaska, Yukon and NWT. According to archaeological evidence, the Old Crow area might be the site of the earliest human occupation in North America. The record of people in the area can be traced back about 24,000 years. The community of Old Crow became a year-round settlement in the 1950s with the building of a school and store. •

The Gwich'in nation bands of Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories Alaska Arctic Village (Vashraii K'oo) Neets'aii Gwich'in, "residents of the north side" Birch Creek (Denduu) Dendu Gwich'in, "foothill mountain people" Chalkyitsik ("fish hooking place") Draan'jik Gwich'in, "Black River Indians" Circle (Dan Zhit Haainlaii) Danzhit Hanlaih Gwich'in, "water flowing out of the mountains" Fort Yukon (Gwichyaa Zhee) Gwich'yaa Gwich'in, "people of the flats" Venetie (Viihtaii) Gwichyaa Gwich'in, "people of the flats" Not official? Eagle (Village) Stevens Village Beaver Canyon Village Christian Yukon Territory Old Crow (Vuntee Gwich'in) Vuntut Gwitchin, "people of the lakes". Northwest Territories Fort McPherson (Teetl'it Zheh) Teetl'it Gwich'in, "people of the head waters" Arctic Red River (Tsiigehtchic) Gwichya Gwich'in, "people of the flats". . Aklavik Edhiitat Gwich'in, "delta people" Inuvik Nihtat Gwich'in, "mixed nations" Fifteen villages and small towns scattered across northeast Alaska and northwest Canada are the home of approximately 7,000 Gwich'in - the most northernly location of all Indian nations.*

Old Crow's Official Website

Old Crow


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