DENE STORIES
Belief is a way of explaining, a way
of making sense of what we find around us. Natural disturbances, tragic
events, and difficult undertakings are often impossible to understand
without some help from imagination, allegory, and myth. Truth and mystery
combine to make us realize that we are not masters of our world and there
is much beyond our ability to comprehend.
History and story intertwine in oral tradition to provide a vivid portrayal of events or a snapshot of some significant occurrence.
The first time the white people came into the country was Fort Churchill. That's where the first trading post was. That was the time of Thanadelthur, a Slavey woman. That must have been over two hundred years now. Thanadelthur was captured by the Cree. She was almost killed with a spear but got away. From there she made her way to Fort Churchill. There she was taken into the fort. She was asked what kind of person she was. Her reply was, Dene.
From what I heard, she had a lot of husbands. You might think that's funny É but that's the way it was. She sang, naming all her husbands, and that's why we're still here today.
Michael Rummie, Black Lake
Denesuline Oral History Project
Interviewed by John Dantouze, 1991
According to Hudson Bay records, Thanadelthur arrived at York Factory on November 24, 1714 and was welcomed by James Knight, the Chief Factor. She agreed to lead William Stewart to find her people and bring them into the fur trade, and to make peace between her people and the Cree. Sixty days later they return to fort, accompanied by ten Dene men. Thanadelthur spent part of that winter teaching her people to prepare furs. It seems she also married one of the men who had returned to the fort with her.
There are many stories that are told by the Dene from Lutsel'ke to Dillon. They have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. One of these is the story of Crowhead. Another is Caribou Boy or The Boy Raised by His Grandmother. And another is The Woman of Metals. A version of this story is told here by Ross Cummings.
The Woman of Metals*
Way up in the north country, an Inuit takes a young Dene woman captive. She stayed with him for maybe three years, on a big island someplace up north. She had some children with the Inuit man but longed to return to her own people. One day, in early winter, she had the chance to escape. Following a caribou trail she walked and walked. There were no sticks in that country to make a fire and when she came to the edge of a lake she sat down and cried. She had no idea where she was going. Her baby was crying and she was afraid.
Then she saw a timber wolf going down to the frozen lake. Known for superior sight and intelligence, the woman decided to follow the animal. She made it across the lake, and walked all night. In the darkness, she saw a light coming from the grass. She was afraid, but curious. She approached the light, and found a brownish-red metal lying on the ground. She picked it up and took it with her. When she found her people she showed them her discovery. And that's how copper was brought to the Dene.
This story is also told in The Book of Dene, a collection of legends gathered by Father Emile Petitot. The Woman of Metals or The Discovery of Metal by a Captive Woman, was recorded by Father Petitot in Cold Lake in 1881.
Another version of this story appears in Samuel Hearne's journal of a trip to the Coppermine River from York Factory in 1771/1772. It also appears in English and Dene in Chipewyan Texts, Vol. X, Part I by Pliny Earle Goddard. This volume is part of a collection of Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, published in 1912.
* the word for "copper" in Dene is tsatsàné deltthoghi (Elford, p. 6), it also means "metal"
Bibliography
Elford, Leon W. and Marjorie Elford. (1981). Chipewyan Dictionary. Northern Canada Evangelical Mission.
Goddard, Pliny Earle. (1912). "Chipeywan Texts". In, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. X, Part I.
Holland, Lynda. (Ed.) The Dene Elders' Project. (in progress).
Joseyounen, Marie, et. al. (1998). Dene Culture: A Teaching Unit. Holland-Dalby Educational Consulting.
Lowie, Robert H. (1912). "Chipewyan Tales". In, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. X, Part III.
Petitot, O.M.I., Father Emile. (1976). The Book of Dene. Department of Education, Government of the N.W.T.
Write: Lac la Ronge Indian Band Education, Box 480, La Ronge, SK. S0J 1L0