Deloy Ges is the

Deg Xinag language Deg Xinag (Deg Hitan) is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Deg Hitʼan peoples of the GASH region. The GASH region consists of the villages of Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, and Holy Cross along the lower Yukon River in Interior Alaska. T ...

name for the village of

Anvik, Alaska Anvik ( Deg Xinag: ) is a city, home to the Deg Hit'an people, in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The name Anvik, meaning "exit" in the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, became the common usage despite multiple names at the ...

, home to the Deg Hit'an people. More specifically, it refers to Anvik Hill, also called Hawk Bluff, the current site of the Anvik Airport. Deloy Ges Inc. is also the name for the Deg Hit'an Native corporation. It translates literally as 'so-called mountain' or 'bum mountain'. The traditional story, retold by elder Alta Jerue, says that one day, Yixgitsiy (also simply known as Raven) was walking along the

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercourse ...

, when he saw a soil pile and decided to make a mountain. They say, every time he tried to climb it, the soil would slide down, bringing him along. After a short while, frustrated Yixgitsiy angrily hit at the pile with his walking stick, sending it all over. This is the reason, given in lore, for the many

gulch In xeric lands, a gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch. ...

es on Anvik Hill, the so-called mountain. The Deg Xinag word for 'raven' translates as 'your (plural) grandfather', as he is revered as the mythological village chief.

References

* * Alaska Native culture Deg Xitʼan Populated places in Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America Sacred mountains {{YukonKoyukukAK-geo-stub