The Chipewyan Tribe:

Linguistics Group

The Chipewyan Symbol

According to the Linguistics approach used by historians, the Chipewyans would primarily belong to both the Athapaskan and the Algonquin. (White areas)

Cultural Group

According to the Cultural approach, the Chipewyan people would be included within both the Great Plains AND The Western Sub-Arctic groups. (The beige and dark green areas.)

The Social Organization

The Chipewyan's often based their tribes and groups primarily on ties of marriage and linear descent. This meant that just about everybody within the groups were somehow related to at least one other, whether it be by blood or marital. These bands could reach anywhere from 50 to 100 people. Several local bands, in turn, made up regional bands of two hundred to four hundred persons who identified with particular caribou wintering areas and migration routes.

The Chipewyan Tribe:

"People of the Barrens"

The Political Organization

There were no "positions of power" within the early contact Chipewyan's. They didn't place any of the members above any others, however individuals with unique proven ability were accorded respect and influence. These were the people who were the leaders of the hunting groups or the band leaders.

Regional Group

The Chipewyan people belong to the Interior Plains regional group. This means that they lived throughout the western Canadian Shield to the Northwest Territories, and including part of northern parts of the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. (The orange section of the map.)

The Economic Structure

The Chipewyan made use of all available large animals and of most smaller ones as well. Fish and fowl were important food sources, but the use of any particular species tended to be seasonal. They frequently traded with other bands to allow their tribe to prosper from goods they could not find themselves.

Due to such similar beliefs and organization, the Chipewyan and the Chippewa often worked together to take down large herds of animals. Once the fur trade eventually started, they essentially assimilated into each other and became one larger tribe.

Unique Cultural Aspects

• Up until the early 20th century, the Chipewyans were considered to be a very vicious group, and were feared by early settlers. It is now understood that this is not true.
• The Chipewyan were, and generally still are, animists. Animals, spirits, and other animate beings existed in the realm of "inkoze" simultaneously with their physical existence.
• The arts were never a separate category in Chipewyan culture but were integrated into other aspects of life. Drama was poorly developed, but oral performances (myth, storytelling, singing) were well developed.

Works Cited

• "Chipewyan." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.
• <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/chipewyan>

• "Chipewyan." Chipewyan. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013
• <http://chipewyan.com/>

• "Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation - Home." Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013
• <http://http-server.carleton.ca/~bgordon/Spatial/Cultures/Chipewyan.htm>