The Northern Tutchone are a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living mainly in the central

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

in Canada.

Language and culture

The

Northern Tutchone language Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

, originally spoken by the Northern Tutchone people, is a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of the

Tutchone language Tutchone is an Athabaskan language spoken by the Northern and Southern Tutchone First Nations in central and southern regions of Yukon Territory, Canada. Tutchone belongs to the Northern Athabaskan linguistic subfamily and has two primary var ...

, part of the Athabaskan language family. Song Keeper

Jerry Alfred Jerry Alfred (born 1955 in Mayo, Yukon) is a Northern Tutchone musician living in Pelly Crossing, Yukon. He received a 1996 Juno Award for his recording ''ETSI Shon'' (Grandfather Song) in the category Aboriginal Recording of the Year. Hi ...

is leading a movement to keep the language alive through his music.

Governments

Northern Tutchone First Nations governments and communities include: *

First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun ( English: "First Nation of the Big River People") is a First Nation band government in Yukon, Canada. Its main population centre is in Mayo, Yukon Mayo is a village in Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail ...

''(

Mayo, Yukon Mayo is a village in Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail and the Stewart River. It had a population of 200 in 2016. The Yukon Bureau of Statistics estimated a population of 496 in 2019. It is also the home of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Du ...

)'' (''Na-Cho Nyäk Dun'' - "Big River People", because they called the Stewart River ''Na Cho Nyak'', meaning Big River, most northerly Northern Tutchone First Nation) * Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation ''(

Carmacks, Yukon Carmacks is a village in Yukon, Canada, on the Yukon River along the Klondike Highway, and at the west end of the Robert Campbell Highway from Watson Lake. The population is 493 (Canada Census, 2016). It is the home of the Little Salmon/Carma ...

)'' (''Tagé Cho Hudän'' - "Big River People") *

Selkirk First Nation The Selkirk First Nation (Hucha Hudan people) is a First Nation self-government in the Canadian territory, Yukon. Its original population centre was the trading post of Fort Selkirk, Yukon along the Yukon River, but most of its citizens now live in ...

''( Pelly Crossing, Yukon)'' (''Hućha Hudän'' - "Flatland People", because of the landscape in

Fort Selkirk Fort Selkirk is a former trading post on the Yukon River at the confluence of the Pelly River in Canada's Yukon. For many years it was home to the Selkirk First Nation (Northern Tutchone). History Archaeological evidence shows that the site h ...

, where the land is flat on both sides of the river) *

White River First Nation The White River First Nation (WRFN) is a First Nation of Upper Tanana, Northern Tutchone, and Southern Tutchone peoples in the western Yukon Territory in Canada. Its main population centre is Beaver Creek, Yukon. Language The White River people ...

''(

Beaver Creek, Yukon Beaver Creek is a community in Yukon, Canada. Located at kilometre 1870.6 (historical mile 1202) of the Alaska Highway, southeast of Beaver Creek Airport and close to the Alcan - Beaver Creek Border Crossing, it is Canada's westernmost communit ...

)''

External links

Tutchone
Canadian Encyclopedia Northern Tutchone {{FirstNations-stub