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Sekani, "people of the rocks or mountains," were first contacted by Samuel BLACK in 1824. They consisted of several family groups or bands, each of 30-40 persons, who hunted and traded along the Finlay and Parsnip tributaries of the PEACE RIVER. Since the band rather than the tribe was the primary unit of affiliation, identification of some bands with the Sekani is arbitrary. Sekani speak a form of the Beaver-Sarcee-Sekani branch of Athapaskan and appear to have diverged from the BEAVER only late in the 18th century.
Subsistence
Traditional Sekani subsistence was based primarily on hunting moose, caribou, mountain sheep, bears and, prior to the time they were excluded from the prairies, bison and wapiti. Whitefish were caught but salmon were inaccessible prior to Sekani expansion westward after contact. Most aspects of Sekani technology, including tools, shelters and food preparation, were similar to those of other western Subarctic Athapaskans. However, dogs were not used either for traction or for packing. Toboggans were adopted only in the 20th century and the dugout canoe was copied from others, although aboriginally the Sekani made spruce-bark canoes.
Trading Alliances
The Sekani had trading alliances with the SLAVEY and Beaver to the east, and the TAHLTAN and the CARRIER to the west. Their trade goods were furs and high-quality tanned skin goods. Several bands were said to have wintered at their trade locations, often in the territory of other peoples, where salmon and bison or caribou were available. Early in the 19th century, however, they were driven out of the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains by the Beaver. They also fought with their southern neighbours, into whose territory they tried to intrude. Trading posts were established in or near Sekani territory in 1826-27, beginning with Bear Lake Post, but the Sekani continued to obtain European goods from the coast through Carrier and TSIMSHIAN middlemen. After intermarriage with these 2 groups, the bilateral Sekani adopted many elements of matrilineal West Coast social organization, including clan crests and potlatching, but their attempts to take on the tripartite clan system failed. During the height of the Omineca gold rush in 1871, Bear Lake (Pacific drainage) became their permanent wintering quarters. Many Sekani followed fortune seekers northward to the next major gold rush in the Cassiar area and, around the turn of the century, settled at Fort Ware; other Sekani attached themselves to Fort Grahame and Fort McLeod. Further relocation to Ingenika and nearby Mackenzie occurred in the 1960s when the Bennett Dam caused Fort Grahame to be flooded. By 1996 the Sekani numbered 1044. See also NATIVE PEOPLE: SUBARCTIC and general articles under NATIVE PEOPLE.
Suggested Reading
J. Helm, ed, Handbook of North American Indians, vol 6: Subarctic (1981); D. Jenness, The Sekani Indians of British Columbia (1937).
Links to Other Sites
Languages of Canada
A comprehensive online database of languages currently in use in Canada. Also provides details about extinct languages. Check out the "language maps" for more information. Based on "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition." From SIL International, a US website.
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