By Dorthea Calverley The exact original meaning of the Indian word ‘Unchaga’ or ‘Unchagah’ or ‘Unjigah’ is not certain. ‘Unchagah’, as the word is usually given, has crept into the everyday language of the Peace River country. In its English translation, ‘Peace’ it is both the name of a great river and of a vast territory…. Read More

By Dorthea Calverley Since there were no “chiefs” as such among the Beaver, and no law making or special law-enforcing bodies, the maintenance of law and order depended on public opinion. In the absence of written laws, the rules of conduct were laid down by word of mouth passed on by the elders from antiquity. From… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyWhen she was interviewed in 1974 Mrs. Elizabeth Beattie remembered Mr. Godsell, and had read the story reproduced in Peace River Chronicles. She also remembered many of the old-timers who were in the region when the event was supposed to have taken place. She said she had heard discussions about the incident not… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley “Art” in the sense of producing lifelike representations, much less “pretty pictures”, was never a part of traditional Indian culture here. It has been said that our Athapaskan Indians, including the Chipewyans and Beavers, had no art as such. That is an unwarranted conclusion to draw because, until the advent of the horse,… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley All of the Peace River Indians were until very recently a meat-eating nomadic people, following the bison or buffalo, and later the moose and “elk” to supply their food, clothing and shelter. They lived where winter days are very short, and tepees did not afford enough light to carry on any crafts except… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley Before the Indians obtained beads from the fur-traders, the women of the northern tribes used porcupine quills to ornament their clothing. Using them was a tedious process involving dying, flattening and weaving. A drawing by Diamond Jenness shows a loom for the weaving of headbands, belts and decorative braids. However, he does not… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley Father Morice [The History of Northern Interior British Columbia] discusses bone implements at great length. Naturally since bone disappears if lost, it is unusual to pick up any such implements, as one finds arrowheads, stone hammers. This writer has a tomahawk made of the toes of elk, which when wielded can hurt severely,… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley  The nearest approach to weaving among our Indians was the making of the rabbit-skin robe. Morice [The History of the Northern Interior of British Columbia] says that the weaving of these could hardly be more primitive. It is obvious that the good Father had never done any weaving! The most primitive weaving… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley What did an Indian boy do for pockets, since his clothes had none? He, like his elders, carried various bags and boxes. The largest boxes called parfleches were of many sizes and usually made of rawhide. Some were as large as suitcases, and almost as stiff as a trunk. These might be joined… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyNo rock-paintings have been found in the Peace, either those painted on rock faces or pecked into the surface with a sharp tool. This is not to say there are none; simply that none have been reported. Nevertheless, natives were certainly able to communicate by means of pictures. Decoration of the tipi to… Read More