Gwi'eekajìlchit OR Tithegeh Chì’

7. Gwi'eekajìlchit OR Tithegeh Chì’

Nap Norbert examining the cliff from the water during the 1994 Gwichya Gwich'in Place Names Project. Photo credit: Ingrid Kritsch, GSCI.
Categories: 
Official Name: 
None
Reference: 
This place name refers to a cliff on Campbell Lake.
Literal translation: 
Gwi'eekajìlchit = somebody chipped (steps) OR Tithegeh = seagull; Chì'= their rock

This place name refers to a prominent cliff on the eastern side of Campbell Lake, in the Gwich’in Territorial Park outside of Inuvik. The cliff is visible from the Dempster Highway and, if you stand on top, it provides a spectacular view of the Mackenzie Delta. The first name refers to a time long time ago when people climbed this cliff to collect eagle feathers to fletch the ends of their arrows. The second name refers to the seagulls that used to nest along this cliff. There were so many that this cliff was described as being "white" with large seagulls. Annie Norbert recalled that when her father used to hunt ducks here, it was difficult to talk to one another because of the noise that the seagulls made. Today there are no seagulls here.