Abstract

The recent discovery of extensive deposits of ancient caribou droppings on Thandl‰t and other mountains in the southern Yukon has shown biologists and other researchers that this species was once locally abundant in Champagne and Aishihik First Nations traditional territory. Elders and those familiar with our history, however, know that the Champagne and Aishihik people have a long history with caribou. As recent as just over a century ago, caribou were one of the most significant food and clothing sources. To contribute to the understanding of the species' biology and recent history in CAFN traditional territory, oral history sources (old ethnographies, legends and stories, old and more recent interview transcripts) and archival documents have been examined. At least 9 different hunting fences, for example, are mentioned in the materials examined. These sources shed light on the former range and abundance of the species in the southern part of CAFN traditional territory, where caribou are now rare. While considerable more directed interview work with CAFN Elders is needed, the data examined to date begins to assemble a picture of people and caribou in not too distant times.