Bonnet Plume rivers where large stands of tall and straight
spruce trees (that were needed to build moose skin boats)
could be found. These boats were used to carry families,
their belongings, tons of dry meat, and later furs out of
their wintering grounds to the trading posts.
Dachan Lee K’adh (wood-on the end-fish trap)
refers to a lake at the edge of the treeline where a
fish trap was made. Fish traps were made from
poles, which were tied together with peeled and
split spruce roots and placed near eddies. They
directed fish into an opening from which they could
be scooped out.
Dachan Njuu Njik (stick-long-creek) refers to
a river that flows into the Rat River where timber
suitable for making a caribou fence could be found.
Caribou were driven into these fences and ensnared
or speared. Both the fish trap and caribou fence were
highly efficient fishing and hunting technologies.
ITAI KATZ
Hard spruce gum
ITAI KATZ
Spruce gum tea
Forager 2 Fall 2015
Spruce Trees as Medicinal Plants
When the Gwich’in lived and travelled widely on the
land, they relied extensively on spruce trees and other
plants for treating ailments and injuries and to foster
good health. The cones, boughs, inner spruce bark,
gum (resin), and roots of the spruce trees were made
into teas, salves, and poultices to treat various internal
and external ailments. Steaming was also used as a
method of healing. Of all of the uses described, the one
that is most widely known and practiced even today
is spruce gum for healing injuries. Gwichya Gwich’in
elder Joan Nazon’s story from the 1950s demonstrates
the healing properties of spruce gum:
“In 1952, I think, 1952—we were staying down in
our house. We had an upstairs, and one of our sons, our
oldest one, Jimmy, was playing up and down, and he fell
down and he got a big cut right here! Deep! About that
long, too. Right down to the skull, I guess. Oh, it was
just open like that! And there was no nursing station or
anything around here that time. The RCMP looked after
the medicine at that time.
So I brought him up to the police barracks to see
if it was possible for them to stitch it. Oh, they didn’t
know what to do. They tried to close it, and then they
put a band-aid on it, but it just kept opening…I told
[the RCMP officer], ‘Oh alright! If they can’t fix it,
I’ll do something myself.’ So he told me, ‘I am going
to go home with you.’ …we [stopped] right in front of
[the RCMP] barracks, [where] there were [spruce]
trees…. I told him, ‘I’m going to take some gum from
here. I’ll show you what to do after I take the gum.’ I
took that clear one. I picked up some. I went back
down and he said, ‘I’ll be right down there. Don’t put
it on him. I want to be there. I’ll watch you,’ he said.
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