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The tents were taken down and most of the gear kept dry under canoes or the tarp.
"Tell us a story about this part of the lake," asked Nora as they sat around
the fire, under the tarp.
"This lake is called Intse Ti, which means "Moose Lake" in Slavey," explained
Etseh. "Not far from here, is a place where the Sahtu Dene and Dogrib people
would meet once a year."
"Where were the Sahtu Dene people from?" asked John.
"From the area all around Great Bear Lake," replied Etsi. "Their language is Slavey,
but the two groups could understand each other. They would meet at the Johnny
Hoe River each fall to make a huge fish trap together," continued Etseh. "The
Sahtu Dene would start building the fish trap from one side of the river and our
people, the Dogrib, would start from the other side."
"Were they catching trout?" asked John.
"Ile," said Etseh. "Whitefish. It was a great time of working together
and visiting. People celebrated with lots of food and tea dances that lasted hours
and hours. When the fishing was over, each group took dry fish back to their own
area to be used in the coming winter."
Etsi got up and began dancing around the fire. "Come on you three! Come and dance
with me!"
Etsi and Etseh sang a tea dance song as they moved with rhythm, around
in a circle. It wasn't long before Nora, Peter and John joined in the fun.
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