Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Mar 17/00) - The Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board is updating its 1997 book, Gwich'in Words About the Land, and is getting a lot of help from friends.

Board communications manager Marie-Anick Elie and Bobbi Jo Greenland, Gwich'in environmental knowledge project assistant, have been visiting communities in the Gwich'in Settlement Region and gathering elders' stories in an effort to preserve tradition and customs and make the new Words book that much more concise.

"We're gathering information from the same communities as in the original book, and want to make sure they're all represented," said Elie. "Maybe some of them are hunting more now, and the people of Tsiigehtchic have been doing a lot of fishing, so they might have something to say."

The original Words book contains chapters that focus on particular animals, like caribou, dall sheep and beaver. Those chapters are broken down into sections describing the animal's habitat, behaviour and uses; including how to prepare it for food, skins and medicine.

"Passing on our knowledge about the land and animals to our children is the best gift we can give them," wrote Aklavik's Mary Kendi in the introduction.

The nine elders recently gathered at the board's Inuvik headquarters clearly shared Kendi's enthusiasm. Prompted by questions posed by Elie, the four men and five women held an informal discussions concerning trout and some 18 other species of fish and animals, discussions sprinkled with memories and moments of good humour.

On the subject of cooking trout, Willy Simon said he remembered as a child how he would watch as the fish was hung beside the stove to cook -- and know it was done when it dropped to the ground.

"I can always remember waiting for that fish to fall," he said, prompting his friend Henry Rivet to reply with a grin, "I'd eat it before it fell."

Simon said he had certainly noticed changes in people's attitude toward animals and resources over time, and that for this reason participating in the Word project is a great idea.

"In the old days they used to take care of animals a lot better, and now they're kind of losing it," he said. "People are just not using what their ancestors used; they throw away caribou legs, where traditionally the bone marrow would be used for grease."

Both Elizabeth Firth and Sarah Nerysoo said despite their experience they're far from knowing it all, and enjoy the consultation sessions as much for what they can learn as what they can tell.

"It's very interesting to learn about the animals, and Henry has some pretty interesting stories," said Nerysoo. "We did a lot of fishing and trapping, but didn't know everything about it."

Rivet said he was surprised to learn about medicine that could be made from the bladders of certain fish and other traditional knowledge. He added that what with changes in technology, the Gwich'in approach to the land has changed, too, but added that wouldn't prevent the new generations benefiting from the recorded knowledge.

"There's no end to learning all through your life -- even if you live to 1,000," he said. "And the young fellows can pack this book with them when they go out on the land."