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Dè T’a Hoti Ts’eeda: ‘We Live Securely by the Land’

Tipi Display in Scotland (photo credit: Neil Curtis, Curator of Marischal Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland)

Tipi Display in Scotland (photo credit: Neil Curtis, Curator of Marischal Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland)

Dè T’a Hoti Ts’eeda: ‘We Live Securely by the Land’ was an international exhibition that presented selected items from the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) Dene collection to a Canadian audience. The National Museums of Scotland (NMS), the Tłı̨chǫ Government, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC), and the Visual Research Centre at the University of Dundee (VRC/UD) collaborated in the development of this exhibition. It focused on Dogrib heritage items, but also included key pieces representative of other NWT Dene cultures.

The National Museums of Scotland collection is the oldest and most extensive collection of 19th century Dene artifacts in the world today. Assembled during a time of momentous change for the Dene, it includes items of great visual appeal and ethnographic interest, and provides unique perspectives on Dene technology and art during a critical period of their history. The exhibition provided a rare opportunity for Canadian audiences to view a selection of the most important objects in the collection.

This web archive presents materials assembled and published during the exhibition, including the companion catalogue, sample gallery of objects from the collection, background on the genesis of this project, and ancillary information about the historic connection between Scotland and Denendeh.

References:

  • A fuller account of the history of the collection and of selected artefacts can be found in the catalogue The Athapaskans: Strangers of the North, National Museum of Man, Ottawa, 1974.

The information on this site is largely drawn from the following publication:

  • Idiens, D. 1979. A catalogue of Northern Athapaskan Indian Artefacts in the collection of the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Museum Information Series, Art and Archaeology 3, March 1979.

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