Glass trade beads found while excavating one of the sites at Martin Zheh. © Eric Damkjar, Gwich’in Tribal Council Dept. Of Culture and Heritage.

Following the signing of the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement in 1992, the Gwich’in Tribal Council (GTC) established a number of organizations to deal with new responsibilities created by the Agreement. The Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (now known as the Department of Cultural Heritage), was created as the cultural and heritage arm of the GTC in response to concerns about the decline of Gwich’in culture and language and the need to implement heritage resource issues identified in the land claim.

The mandate of the department is to document, preserve and promote Gwich’in culture, language, traditional knowledge and values. Staff oversee and conduct research in the areas of culture, language and traditional knowledge so that this body of knowledge is available for future generations and develops other related programs appropriate to Gwich’in needs.