Traditional Gwich’in Place Names
Old becomes new
What was old is new again for the Gwich’in of the Northwest Territories. On June 21, 2013 the Government of the Northwest Territories officially recognised over 400 traditional Gwich’in place names reflecting their land use across the Gwich’in Settlement Area of the NWT. Through the efforts of the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute working closely with Gwich’in Elders between 1992 and 2012, the names of various geographic features were identified and registered with the NWT Cultural Places Program. In 2013, an exhibit was prepared and launched at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre to highlight this historic step in the evolution of NWT cultural heritage and geographical information. For more information, please read the FAQ, survey the Place Names map prepared by the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute, and browse the tables which catalogue the place names along with their geographical coordinates and brief descriptions in Gwich’in.
