Nahani
Encyclopedia
Nahani is an Athapaskan word used to designate native groups located in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

 and the Yukon Territories between the upper Liard River
Liard River
The Liard River flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows southeast through British Columbia, marking the northern end of the Rocky Mountains and then curving northeast back...

 and the 64th parallel north
64th parallel north
The 64th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 64 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia and North America....

 latitude. While these native groups do not necessarily have anything in common, the Canadian government used the term "Nahani" until the 1970s to refer to them collectively. They were divided into several tribes:
  • Kaska
    Kaska
    The Kaska or Kaska Dena are a First Nations people living mainly in northern British Columbia and the southeastern Yukon in Canada. The Kaska language originally spoken by the Kaska is an Athabaskan language....

    , located between the Dease River
    Dease River
    The Dease River flows through northwestern British Columbia, Canada and is a tributary of the Liard River. The river descends from Dease Lake, though its ultimate origin is in the headwater of Little Dease Creek at Snow Peak, approximately 50 km to the west of the lake...

     and the Beaver River divided into two bands, the Titshotina (mountain people) to the east and the Tsezotine (big water people) to the west.
  • Esbataottine (Goat), located north and west of the Kaska along the Beaver River, South Nahanni River
    South Nahanni River
    The South Nahanni River is a major tributary of the Liard River, located roughly 500 kilometres west of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the centerpiece of Nahanni National Park Reserve...

    , and North Nahanni River
    North Nahanni River
    North Nahanni River is a river in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is a major tributary of the Mackenzie River-Course:The North Nahanni River originates in the Backbone Ranges of the Mackenzie Mountains, at an elevation of . It flows east, south of the Thundercloud Range, then turns...

    .
  • Etagottine, in the valleys of Gravel River and Dahachuni River.
  • Tagish
    Tagish
    The Tagish or Tagish Khwáan are a group of Athabaskan First Nation people that lived around Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake, in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Tagish people intermarried heavily with Tlingit people from the coast and the Tagish language is almost extinct...

    , about Tagish Lake
    Tagish Lake
    Tagish Lake is a lake in the Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia, Canada. The lake is more than long and about 2 km wide.It has two arms, the Taku Arm in the east which is very long and mostly in British Columbia and Windy Arm in the west, mostly in the Yukon. The Klondike Highway runs...

     and Marsh Lake
    Marsh Lake
    Marsh Lake is a widening of the Yukon River southeast of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is over 30 kilometres long and ranges from three to four kilometres wide.The co-ordinates of the lake are , and is 2,147 feet above sea level...

    .
  • Takutine, on Teslin River
    Teslin River
    The Teslin River is a river in southern Yukon Territory and northwestern British Columbia, Canada, that flows 393 miles from its source south of Teslin Lake to its confluence with the Yukon River....

     and Teslin Lake
    Teslin Lake
    Teslin Lake is a large lake spanning the border between British Columbia and Yukon in Canada. It is one of a group of large lakes in the region of far northwestern BC, east of the upper Alaska Panhandle, which are the southern extremity of the basin of the Yukon River, and which are known in the...

     and upper Taku River
    Taku River
    The Taku River is a river running from British Columbia, Canada, to the northwestern coast of North America, at Juneau, Alaska. Its mouth coincides with the Alaska-British Columbia border...

    .
  • Titshotina, between the Cassiar Mountains
    Cassiar Mountains
    The Cassiar Mountains are the most northerly group of the Northern Interior Mountains in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. They lie north and west of the Omineca Mountains, west of the northernmost Rockies and the Rocky Mountain Trench, north of the Hazelton...

     and Liard and Dense Rivers, in British Columbia.
  • Pelly River Indians: The Pelly and Ross River
    Ross River
    Ross River may refer to:* Ross River , a triburtary of Todd River near Alice Springs* Ross River , the main river that flows through Townsville, Queensland, Australia...

     tribes were destroyed in 1884, likely by a band of Hare Indians. A band consisting of two survivors as well as members from surrounding tribes reformed in the same area under this name.
  • Tahltan
    Tahltan
    Tahltan refers to a Northern Athabaskan people who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut.-Social Organization:...

     were sometimes considered a Nahani tribe.


Currently these groups are identified as Southern Tutchone
Southern Tutchone
The Southern Tutchone are a First Nations people living mainly in the southern Yukon in Canada. The Southern Tutchone language, originally spoken by the Southern Tutchone people is a variety of the Tutchone language, part of the Athabaskan language family, although it may be argued that Northern...

 and Kaska language
Kaska language
Kaska is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Kaska people in the southeastern Yukon territory and northern British Columbia in Canada.-References:***...

speakers. In 1996, there were 2,407 registered Nahani in Canada.
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