Building Log Cabin Homes in Teetl'it Gwich‟in Country: Vernacular Architecture, Local History, and Continuities

Log Cabins continue to be an important architectural form in Teetlit Gwich‘in country (Peel River, Northwest Territories) for many reasons. This paper will discuss how a local history of cross-cultural encounters in Gwich‘in country informs the practice and significance of building these cabins. In Gwich‘in discourse, these cabins emerge as constellations of personal and group stories indexing a period of positive cultural exchange between Gwich‘in and Scottish fur traders during the nineteenth century. Furthermore, in building these practical architectural forms, Gwich‘in also maintain claims to their country, to local understandings of their history, continuity of tradition on the land, and establish a relative permanence of home.