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Kawchodinne
Indian Tribe History
Kawchodinne(ka 'hare', cho
'great', dinne 'people': 'people of the great
hares'). An Athapascan tribe dwelling north of Great Bear lake, Mackenzie Territory,
Canada, on Mackenzie river, the lakes east of it, and Anderson river. Mackenzie said they were a small tribe residing on Peace river, who spoke the
language of the Chipewyan and derived their name from the Arctic hare, their
chief means of support. At another time (Mass. Hist. Coll., ii, 43, 1814) he
placed them on Porcupine river, Alaska. Franklin (Journ. to Polar Sea, 261, 1824)
placed them immediately north of the Thlingchadinne on the north side of the outlet of
Bear lake. Back (Journal, 497, 1833-35) located them on Mackenzie river
as far north
as 68°. Richardson (Arct. Exped., ii, 3,1851) gave their habitat as the banks of
Mackenzie river from Slave lake downward. Hind (Lab. Penin., ii, 261, 1863) said
they resorted to Ft Norman and Ft Good Hope on the Mackenzie, and also to Ft
Yukon, Alaska. Ross (MS., B. A. E.) said they resided in 1859 in the country
surrounding Ft Good Hope on Mackenzie river, extending beyond the Arctic circle,
where they came in contact with the Kutchin, with whom by intermarriage they
have formed the tribe of Bastard Loucheux (Nellagottine). Petitot (Dict. Dènè-Dindjie,
xx, 1876) said the Kawchodinne lived on the lower Mackenzie from Ft Norman to
the Arctic ocean. They are described as a thickset people, who subsist partly on
fish and reindeer, but
obtain their clothing and most of their food from the hares that abound in their
country. Their language differs little from that of the Etchareottine, while
their style of dress and their customs are the same, although through long
intercourse with the traders, for whom they have great respect, most of the old
customs and beliefs of the tribe have become extinct. They are on friendly terms
with the Eskimo. The Kawchodinne have a legend of the formation of the earth by
the muskrat and the beaver. The dead are deposited in a rude cage built above
ground, the body being wrapped in a blanket or a moose skin; the property of
relatives is destroyed, and their hair is cut as a sign of mourning. When the
supply of hares becomes exhausted, as it frequently does, they believe these
mount to the sky by means of the trees and return in the same way when they
reappear. Polygamy is now rare. They are a peaceable tribe, contrasting with
their Kutchin neighbors. In personal combat they grasp each. other by their
hair, which they twist round and round until one of the contestants falls to the
ground. They are not so numerous as formerly, a great many having died from
starvation in 1841, at which time numerous acts of cannibalism are said to have
occurred. In 1858 Ross (MS. , B. A. E.) gave the population as 467; 291 males,
176 females. Of these 103 resorted to Ft Norman and 364, to Ft Good Hope. Petitot
(Dict. Dènè-Dindjie,
xx, 1876) arranged them in five subdivisions:
Nigottine
Katagottine
Katchogottine
Satchotugottine
Nellagottine
In
another list (Bull. Soc. Geog. Paris, 1875) instead of Nigottine he has
Etatchogottine and Chintagottine. In a later grouping (Autour du lacdes Esclaves,
362, 1891) Petitot identifies Katagottine with Chintagottine, suppresses Satchotugottine, and adds Kfwetragottine.
The books presented are for their
historical value only and are not the
opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
Handbook
of American Indians, 1906
Canadian Indian
Tribes
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