This fonds consists of records documenting the activities of the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute from its establishment in 1993 until its transition into the Gwich’in Tribal Council’s Department of Cultural Heritage in 2016. The fonds includes some records of the Department of Cultural Heritage from 2016 until 2018. The material has been arranged into 38 series based on seven functional categories:

• Administration includes nine series documenting the governance and administration of the GSCI. The series included in this category are Gwich’in Tribal Council (426-S01); Governance (426-S02); Executive Director (426-S03); Research Director and General Administrative Materials (426-S04); Finance (426-S05); Correspondence (426-S06); Gwich’in Organizations, Communities and Events (426-S07); Other Organizations, Institutions and Associations (426-S08); and Website (426-S09). These series include meeting packages and minutes; strategic planning materials including GSCI’s five-year plans; annual reports; GSCI Executive Director files from 2004-2016; office, staff, project and other general administrative materials; financial statements and reporting materials; funding proposals, applications, reports, contribution agreements and service contracts; correspondence files; meeting materials, minutes, reports, proposals, presentation materials and informational materials related to Gwich’in and non-Gwich’in organizations, institutions and associations; website planning materials including funding applications, contribution agreements, financial statements and content planning materials; and general correspondence within each series.
• Consultation with Government includes three series documenting GSCI’s consultation and interaction with the federal and territorial governments. The series included in this category are Government of Canada (426-S10), Government of the Northwest Territories (426-S11) and Government of Yukon (426-S12). These series include correspondence; proposals; reports; funding proposals and reporting materials; workshop and presentation materials; informational materials; and curriculum planning and development materials.
• Traditional Knowledge and Land Use Policy and Regulation includes three series documenting the GSCI’s work in traditional knowledge policy development, land use planning and management and permitting and licensing. The series included in this category are Traditional Knowledge Policy (426-S13); Land Use Planning and Management (426-S14); and Researchers, Permits, Licences and Use Agreements (426-S15). These series include correspondence; proposals; funding and financial materials; workshop and presentation materials; discussion papers; reference materials; reports; policy copies; permit and licence applications and reports; research and data-sharing agreements; researcher files; and project materials provided to GSCI by researchers including planning materials, interview materials, photographs, videos and films, theses, reports and articles.
• Repatriation includes two series documenting the GSCI’s work in repatriating Gwich’in heritage materials and knowledge through a number of projects. The series included in this category are Gwich’in Traditional Caribou Skin Clothing Project (426-S16) and Repatriation Projects (426-S17). These series consist of project, planning and produced records including correspondence; funding proposals, contribution agreements and terms of reference; reports; copies of publications; audio and video recordings; and photographs, slides and negatives.
• Recognition of Historic and Cultural Sites includes three series documenting the GSCI’s work for the recognition, protection and management of Gwich’in historic and cultural sites. The series included in this category are Gwich’in Territorial Park (426-S18); Burial Sites (426-S19); and Historic Sites and Heritage Rivers (426-S20). The series include correspondence; materials related to the GSCI’s work in developing a vision and management plan for the Gwich’in Territorial Park including terms of reference, meeting materials, planning materials and copies of the management plan; funding materials, reports, maps and audio recordings from projects GSCI conducting in the Gwich’in Territorial Park; GTC Burial Site Guidelines; notes and information from the Tsiigehtchic Graveyard Mapping Project; and materials related to the nomination and management of national and territorial historic sites and heritage rivers including nomination applications, funding materials and service contracts; interview recordings and transcripts; photographs; unveiling ceremony materials; and draft management plans.
• Research and Programs includes 17 series documenting the GSCI’s research projects, programming and activities. These series include project, planning and produced materials, place name database and online mapping materials, conference materials and reference materials. The series included in the category are Oral History and Place Names Projects and Activities (426-S21); Archaeology (426-S22); Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board Traditional Knowledge Work (426-S23); Gwich’in Traditional Knowledge of the Mackenzie Gas Project Area (426-S24); Arctic Red River Headwaters Projects (426-S25); Elder’s Biography Project (426-S26); Gwichya Gwich’in Googwandak (426-S27); Tsiigehtchic Genealogy Workshop (426-S28); Gwich’in Ethnobotany (426-S29); Committee for Original Peoples’ Entitlement (COPE) Recordings (426-S30); Other GSCI Projects (426-S31); Partner Projects (426-S32); Archival Projects (426-S33); Science and Culture Camps (426-S34); Non-Project Publications and Posters (426-S35); Conferences, Workshops and Meetings (426-S36); and Reference Collection (426-S37). These series include correspondence; funding, financial and budget materials; project proposals interview materials; field notes; workshop and presentation materials; reports; GSCI publications including books, articles, brochures and posters; photographs, slides and negatives; audio and video recordings; transcripts; programming materials for science and culture camps; materials related to the documentation, preservation and update of the GSCI’s archival material; conference materials, notes and presentations; and reference materials including books, reports, journals, articles, research manuals, non-GSCI language materials and Gwich’in historical materials.
• Language includes one series documenting the GSCI’s language work and activities outside of research projects. This series is titled Language Work (426-S38) and documents GSCI’s work and relationship with the Gwich’in Language Centre, the development of the Gwich’in Language Plan, GSCI language workshops and projects, and language materials produced by the GSCI. This series includes correspondence; funding and budget materials; workshop materials; immersion camp materials; and dictionary copies, language class materials and other language materials.

Records consist of songs, stories and interview transcripts collected by ethnomusicologist Nicole Beaudry in the Sahtu communities of Deline, Tulita and Fort Good Hope in 1988-1992.

Records consist of a handwritten series of manuscripts titled "Indian Stories" by Paul Vaudrack written between 1963 and 1966. These stories and legends are mostly about Gwich'in and Slavey heroes and their wars against other peoples, including the Chipewyan and Inuvialuit. Other topics include legends about the Deluge, traditional hunting and travel.

Records are comprised of the original English and French bound copies of the Tlicho Agreement. This agreement constitutes a land claims and self government agreement between the Tlicho (Dogrib), the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Canada. Both copies were signed and dated August 25, 2003 in Rae-Edzo, Northwest Territories.

These records were created and/or accumulated by June Helm as the result of her work as an anthropologist studying the Tłı̨chǫ people in the Northwest Territories.

The textual records consist of Helm's field notes that were either typewritten on index cards or kept in binders and organized by subject or organized chronologically by field session. In addition, there are field notes from Helm's co-investigators, Beryl Gillespie, Teresa Carterette, Nancy O. Lurie, David Smith and Robert Howren. The field notes are from the communities of Lac La Martre (Whatı̀), Jean Marie River, Rae (Behchokǫ̀), Dettah, and Fort Norman (Tulita). Included in this accession are approximately 230 books which formed part of Helm's extensive library. The books are both contemporary and historical publications on northern themes, and are annotated by Helm. The bulk of the remaining textual records consist of Helm's vertical files that date from 1950-1990s. This includes annotated copies of partial and complete publications, manuscripts and draft publications that include Masters theses and PhD dissertations. These records are primarily authored by others, although there are copies of and drafts of Helm's work. The remaining textual records consist of Helm's ingoing and outgoing correspondence files that date from the 1950s until 2003.

The photographs include a set of 654 black and white negatives that were taken by June Helm during her field work in Behchokǫ̀ and Whatı̀ between 1959-1970. The images of Behchokǫ̀ depict handgames, scenes of the community, winter activities such as travel by dogteam and ice fishing, setting rabbit snares, travel by canoe on the Frank Channel, working with a caribou hide, and people including Jim Fish, John Baze, Mrs. Johnny Simpson, Chief Bruneau, Vital Thomas and Harry Bearlake. The images of Whatı̀ include winter and fall scenes of the community, people, travel by dogteam and airplane, ice fishing, and a Sunday feast. As well, there are approximately 60 copy prints from the National Museum of Canada, Provincial Archives of Alberta and the Smithsonian, as well as negatives, prints and images used in Helm's publications. The remaining photographic material is largely scenic photographs of Behchokǫ̀ from 1970-1979, and photographs of artifacts from 1977.

The material dates between 1880-1971. This material includes copies of Department of Indian Affairs Annual Reports from 1880-1968; copies of treaty reports and general information about Treaty 8 and Treaty 11, copies of Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol reports from the Mackenzie and Athabasca Districts (1919-1921); copies of relief policies; Band Rolls from the Yellowknife Agency (1959-1961), and Mackenzie District (1971), and a household survey conducted at Lac La Martre (Whatı̀) in 1959. In addition, there is a copy of an article written by Bishop Breynat called the "Blackest Blot" which appeared in the Toronto Star in the 1930s, several articles related to the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in the Northwest Territories, and miscellaneous articles related to game laws and restrictions, land reserves and disease. The maps indicate the location of missions in the Mackenzie/Athabasca regions circa 1800s.

The majority of the material consists of Teresa Carterette's field notes on research conducted at Jean Marie River dated from 1951-1952, copies of June Helm's field notes on the Tłı̨chǫ dated from 1969-1970, bundles of field slips containing brief notes on fieldwork conducted in Jean Marie River between 1951-1952, correspondence to and from residents of the Northwest Territories dated 1990-1995 and copies of several articles by June Helm that appeared in anthropology and scholarly journals. This series of published papers includes the following: Remarks on the Methodology of Band Composition Analysis, The Nature of Dogrib [Tłı̨chǫ] Socioterritorial Groups, Contemporary Folk Beliefs of a Slave Indian [Dehcho Dene] Band (Journal of American Folklore), Variations in Personality and Ego Identification within a Slave Indian [Dehcho Dene] Kin-Community by June Helm, G.A. DeVos, Teresa Carterette; several photocopied articles written by Helm that appeared in Arctic Anthropology (1981, vol. 1 and 1993, vol 2); Arctic (June 1983); Anthropologie (1963); American Ethnologist (May 1980); copy of Chapter 9 which she contributed to book “Political Organization of Native North Americans", Ernest L. Schusky, Editor; Chapter 7 from “Long-Term Field Research in Social Anthropology”, Epilogue entitled “Women’s Work, Women’s Art” for book “Out of the North”, “On Responsible Scholarship on Culture Contact in the Mackenzie Basin" (Current Anthropology, Vol. 19, No. 1 March 1978); and “Tales from the Dogribs [Tłı̨chǫ]”, June Helm and Vital Thomas.

Records include field data collected between 1950-1960 on Dene Kinship Terminology of the Hare [Sahtu Dene], Dogrib [Tłı̨chǫ], Slavey [Dehcho Dene] and Chipewyan [Dëne Sųłıné]. Research was conducted at Fort Good Hope, Rae (Behchokǫ), Whatı̀, Dettah, Jean Marie River, Fort Simpson and at the Camsell Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. In addition, there is correspondence related to the fieldwork and kinship research conducted at Whatı̀, Tłı̨chǫ kinship protocols, kinship terms, and an article on kinship, which appeared in American Anthropologist. There are also several steno pads, which include genealogical data from O.M.I. (Oblates of Mary Immaculate) records at Rae, and ethnological notes from the 1960s. There are also punch cards with notes related to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and results from Rorschach Inkblot tests conducted in Rae and Whatı̀. The remaining records include approximately twenty psychological projective test records, including the Thematic Apperception Test and Rorschach Inkblot Test, which were conducted at Whatı̀ in 1960, as well as loose notes from the psychological projective tests. Included in this material is the draft analysis by George A. DeVos of the University of California at Berkeley and draft personality sketches done by June Helm based upon the field observations of herself and Nancy O. Lurie between 1959-1960.

The records include notes related to the production of the Helm and Lurie monograph on the Dogrib [Tłı̨chǫ] Hand Game and a copy of Arctic Archaeology, Number 2, 1981, which featured June Helm's article on "Dogrib Folk History" and included photographs of John Alden Mason. In addition, there is correspondence to and from June Helm regarding her northern research, letters to and from anthropologist G.E. (Jim) Smith, as well as copies of his obituary and eulogy delivered at his funeral. Furthermore, there is correspondence, critiques and essays submitted to and from June Helm related to the research and published material of Colin Yerbury.

Records relate to June Helm’s work as an anthropologist and her study of the Tłı̨chǫ people in the Northwest Territories. The material includes the following: various Oblate and Anglican mission records of deaths, births, mission histories and priest diaries from Fort Good Hope, Fort Norman (Tulita), Fort Franklin (Délı̨nę), Fort Simpson, Wrigley and Rae (Behchokǫ̀); several notebooks containing hand copied Liber Animarum (genealogical data copied in 1958) of Fort Good Hope; several published articles, field notes, correspondence and draft papers related to the reproductivity of the Fort Good Hope Dene; published articles, correspondence and notes related to northern infanticide; correspondence and documents concerning the requirement in the contract between the National Museum of Canada and field ethnologists that all recorded findings of field work be deposited in the museum; material related to Dene leadership and Camarade de Mandeville; letters from Jean Marie River; field data related to Tłı̨chǫ leaders and leadership in Rae and Dettah and correspondence from S. Rushforth related to Prophets (Tłı̨chǫ) and power.

This material was generated by field work conducted by Beryl Gillespie, an anthropologist who visited the communities of Detah, Rae, Yellowknife, Fort Norman (Tulita) and Fort Franklin (Deline) between 1968 and 1972. The photographs, slides and negatives depict the people she interviewed and the communities that she visited. The textual material consists of field notes containing information and stories collected from the following families: Clement, Lennie, Andrew, Norwegian, Wright, Naedzo, Gladue, Karkagie, Gully, Sangris, Thomas, Abel, Potfighter, Crapeau, Drygeese, Fishbone, Blondin, Bruno, Martin, Mackenzie, Liske, Tobie, Betsina, Charlo, Baillargeon, Hetchile, Vital, Pochat, Yakeleya, Bernard, Mendo, Yukon and Etchinele. The two audio cassettes appear to be taped stories told by Gabriel Etchinele and Fred Andrew. Both stories are in Slavey. The first story was told by Gabriel Etchinele on October 18, 1972 and is the story about Dendejule. The English translation by Stella Mendo is available in the field notes. The second audio cassette contains a story told by Fred Andrew on October 25, 1972 about the Ehbaotine and Mountain Indian Conflict. The English translation by Laura Yakelaya is available in the field notes.

The records are comprised of a booklet entitled "Alphabetical List. Yellowknife Indian Agency" from 1962. This index lists the names, date of birth, band and official number of Dogrib in the Snowdrift, Yellowknife and Dogrib Rae Bands.

This accession consists of 0.9 cm of textual records and 29 audio cassettes created by Alestine Andre during her Arctic Red River (Tsiigehtchic) Oral History Project in Tsiigehtchic in 1989-1990. The goal of the project was to collect information on the traditional lifestyle and cultural beliefs of the Gwichya Gwich'in in Tsiigehtchic. The textual records document the project's administration, and include a final report and a transcript. The audio cassettes include interviews conducted on various dates with five Elders who agreed to participate in the project: Hyacinthe Andre, Andre Jerome, Joan Nazon, Annie Norbert, and Nap Norbert.

The textual records consist of a brochure describing the film. In the film, produced by Films North, Father Rene Fumoleau discusses the changes in his views and philosophy that have occurred from his working with the Dene people, and George Barnaby discusses the changes in his own life and the choices he faces.

Records include photographs documenting the construction of a mooseskin boat, the construction of a spruce bark canoe, and the tanning of a moose hide and a copy of Gloria Fedirchuk's proposal to film aboriginal adaptations and their relationship to the boreal forest environment of the Fisherman Lake Slave, including ethnographic practices, ethnobotanical information on use and taxonomy of flora, ethnozoological information on use of fauna, activities done in various seasons of the year, and the construction and creation of ethnographic items.

The recordings, often referred to as the Dene Music Project, were made at four different Dene communities and each performance consisted of numerous songs. For identification purposes, each performance or recording session has been given a unique item number regardless of the number of physical tapes or songs it may incorporate. Included among the recordings are the master reels (:0009) compiled from a selection from original recordings. These reels were to be used in the production of the published record. Reference cassettes for most of the recordings are available. The textual records consists of documentation on each of the recording sessions. The black and white photographic negatives and corresponding contact sheets were taken during the recording sessions. Final appraisal and selection of the photographic negatives (items :0010-:0088) was completed in March 2013. Items :0004, :0006 and :0008 - original masters are cassettes. All other items have reel to reels as original masters.

Records include sound recordings of interviews conducted as part of the Great Bear Lake Oral History Project in 1992. Topics discussed include settlement patterns around Great Bear Lake before Deline (Fort Franklin) was established, traditional place names in the Great Bear Lake area, the settlement of Deline (Fort Franklin), Slavey social life and customs, fishing, hunting and Slavey games. People interviewed included Jean Baptiste, Julie Baptiste, Madeline Baton, Paul Baton, Peter Baton, Madeline Bayha, Christine Cleary, Melanie Elemie, Margaret Kenny, Marie Therese (Sr.) Kenny, Bella Modeste, Camilla Takazo, Louie Taniton, Rosa Taniton, Francis Tatti, Cecile Tetso, Adeline Vital, Dora Vital and Johnny Vital. The interviews are in North Slavey; most recordings include introductions and summaries in English.

The textual records is comprised of a funeral program for Michel Sikyea from December 2002. The photographs, taken by Bill Braden, depict Michel Sikyea cutting fish in a camp setting.