INGRID KRITSCH, GSCI
Gwichya Gwich’in elder Hyacinthe Andre telling a travelling story to daughter Alestine Andre at Nihtavan Diniinlee (literally translated as ‘A chain of lakes-many are lined up’) in June 1993
Spruce Tree / Ts’iivii – “The spruce tree is one of the
very best medicines that we have. We can use most of a
day to talk about and work with that whole tree. There
is so much to it.”
— Teetł’it Gwich’in elder Ruth Welsh, July 2002.
F
or thousands of years, the Gwich’in living
in the boreal forest of Northern Canada
depended on plants, alongside hunting
and fishing, for their survival. The local plant life
supplied food, medicine, shelter, and tools, among
other things. They were highly skilled and knowledgeable about which plants to harvest according
to the season and their needs. This knowledge was
accompanied by a great respect for all plants, which
they expressed by giving thanks and leaving appropriate offerings when collecting. While women were
the primary holders of this knowledge, everyone
had a basic knowledge of first aid. This knowledge
was passed on from generation to generation.
In the early days of contact with Euro-Canadians,
the Gwich’in were discouraged from using their Traditional Knowledge about plants to heal themselves and
treat injuries. In the Fort McPherson area, Teetł’it
Gwich’in elder Ruth Welsh recalled that when Indian
Agents and the Anglican ministers came into the area,
it was often one of the minister’s wives who dispensed
aspirin, liniments, or other medication when people
became ill.
“…We were forbidden to use our traditional medicines that had been used for so many years. We were
told it was taboo. We were told it was no good. We were
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told it didn’t work and… [to] throw it away and don’t
take it. But we didn’t do that. It just went under cover.
Everybody used it. All these years it was used without
anybody knowing about it.”
This article explores how the Traditional Knowledge and use of plants by the Gwich’in has been
documented and “brought back” through the efforts
of Gwich’in elders such as Welsh and the Gwich’in
Social and Cultural Institute (GSCI), an organization borne out of the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land
Claim Agreement that was signed in 1992 between the
Gwich’in Tribal Council, the C anadian Government,
and the Government of the Northwest Territories.
It also highlights one of the plants that is of special
importance to the Gwich’in, the spruce tree – ts’iivii –
by drawing upon oral history and Traditional Knowledge provided by Gwich’in elders.
Gwich’in Elder Ruth Welsh
One of the most important plants used by the Gwich’in
is the spruce tree, both the black spruce (Picea mariana)
and the white spruce (Picea glauca). As Teetł’it Gwich’in
elder Welsh said, “We can use most of a day to talk about
and work with that whole tree. There is so much to it.”
Welsh was a medicine plant specialist who spent much
of her life learning and later teaching about Gwich’in
Traditional Knowledge and plant use. She was born in
1931 to Elizabeth (Ross) and Arthur Blake and raised at
her family’s camp in the Mackenzie Delta.
She learned from her mother and other Gwich’in