The bison migrations, which figure so largely in Western American history, did not occur in the Peace River area. Still, the animals were able to exist here in great numbers as they do today in Wood Buffalo National Park. They were in fact Wood Bison, not the larger Plains Buffalo. The geography of the country… Read More

By Dorthea H. Calverley Our Indians, living in the cold north, and following the buffalo (or later the moose) grew no crops and carried few berries or other vegetable matter from place to place. In other words, they had very little carbohydrate food. For energy, they relied on fat. For vitamins, they relied on the internal… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley Birds in season were very plentiful here when the white man came, for parts of the Peace are on one of the great continental flyways. The numerous lakes and swamps provided ideal nesting for large numbers of geese, ducks and swans. The largest edible birds which stayed all winter were the grouse. The… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley Most of us have been conditioned to think that the Indians lived mostly on pemmican. This is simply not true although pemmican was a critical part of their food supply. They killed animals for food all year round whenever they could. Naturally, in winter any meat not eaten immediately would soon freeze. Since… Read More

 When the white men set out across North America, a reliable supply of portable provisions was one of the major problems. Lacking the skills of the native hunters, it was doubtful that they could live off the country. They knew something about preserving food, a necessity for sailing ships, but it was limited to salting… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley A number of plants in this area were edible in season. Some that are very common now, such as the dandelion, were not available until after the white man came. The large-flowered thistle had an edible root of considerable size, which could be boiled. Its name Cirsium edule means “edible thistle.” When roasted… Read More

 By Dorthea CalverleyPart I – General The Indians of the Peace River Country, until the coming of the fur trader, depended on the skins of animals for clothing. You could not call the material leather which is produced by the action of chemicals on a raw hide. “Dressed skin” is more nearly correct in speaking… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley Father Morice in his book, The History of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, used the name Tsekehne to refer to both the Sekani and Beaver tribes. Other than from comments from the Sekani, he had very little knowledge about the Beaver. But since they were closely related he presumed that many of… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyAsk an average person whether he can draw an Indian tipi [or teepee] and he will say “Why! Of course!” There is no “of course!” about an Indian tipi unless you are an Indian learned in the old ways or, like the anthropologists Reginald and Gladys Aubin you have spent years studying tipis… Read More

  By Dorthea H. Calverley If the door was open, friends simply walked in. If the curtain was dropped over the entrance, a person was expected to signal discretely that he was outside, then wait for an invitation. If the door flap was closed, and two sticks crossed in front of it, the tipi was more… Read More