PRFN Place Names Mapping Project – Phase 1
What is this project?
Prophet River First Nation is looking to record, bring together and share knowledge of Dane-Zaa place names throughout PRFN traditional lands. For Phase 1 of the work, we are looking to record place names, stories and the history of places near Trutch, Klua Lakes, and southwest from there to the Redfern/Minaker River area.
By recording these names, we aim to:
• Document important community knowledge
• Restore use of traditional place names by changing the name of places such as Trutch
• Continue use and revitalisation of the Dane-Zaa language
• Teach place names and stories to younger generation in PRFN by creating an interactive online map
This project will be led by the PRFN Treaty, Lands and Resources Department, with support from consultants at the Firelight Group. PRFN aims to map more place names across the territory in future phases of this work.
What will we be doing as part of this project?
The key steps include:
1. Bring together all the information PRFN has already recorded about Dane-Zaa place names
2. Interview up to 30 community members to map Dane-Zaa place names and traditional land use in PRFN traditional territory
3. Using this information, draft a map of Dane-Zaa place names for community members to review
4. Workshops with community members to verify the place names, review the map and plan next steps for this Project
Getting involved
We are looking to interview up to 30 PRFN members to record oral history and knowledge of place names near Trutch, Klua Lakes and the Redfern/Minaker River area. All PRFN members have valuable knowledge to contribute, so we want to make sure we speak with a large group of community members including youth, elders, land users, knowledge holders, hunters, fishers and more. Interviews will take place in a Covid safe environment in the multi-plex at PRFN or remotely by Zoom. An honorarium will be paid to all band members who complete an interview.
If you would like to do an interview, or would like to know more about this work, please contact:
Melissa ([email protected] 250-793-5304) or
Tamara ([email protected] 250-500-2625) in the Treaty, Lands and Resources Department, or
Jonathan Taggart of the Firelight Group at [email protected] or 778-851-0264
