Provinces and Territories · Drawing 34 of 42
The caribou’s long journey
Yukon
In spring and fall, thousands of caribou often pass near Old Crow. The Vuntut Gwitchin have lived alongside the caribou for thousands of years.
How to say it: Vuntut Gwitchin sounds like “vun-TUT GWITCH-in.”
Look together
Why do you think the caribou travel so far?
An idea to try
Walk in single file like a herd of caribou: everyone follows the person in front, then you change leaders. Talk about what the caribou might see along the way.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Old Crow, a fly-in community of about 300 people on the Porcupine River in northern Yukon, is the seat of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, the government of the Van Tat Gwich’in. Each spring and fall, the Porcupine caribou herd passes through their lands, travelling between its winter range and its calving grounds on the Arctic coastal plain. Parks Canada describes people patrolling the river, watching and waiting, because the caribou arrive at different times and places each year.
The First Nation explains that caribou, vadzaih in Gwich’in, are central to its culture, identity and way of life. It reports an estimate of about 143,000 caribou in 2025, down from 218,000 in 2017, and works to protect their habitat. Talk with your child about how people and animals both depend on healthy land.
Sources and illustration notes (4)
An imagined scene; four caribou stand in for a herd of thousands, and the people are not real individuals.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Parks Canada — The Porcupine Caribou Herd (Vuntut National Park)Spring migration to the coastal plain and fall return to the winter range south of the Porcupine River; in Old Crow, people patrol the river, watching and waiting; arrival time and place differ each year; importance of the herd to the Gwitchin.
- Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation — Our First NationGovernment of the Van Tat Gwich’in; Old Crow is the seat of government, on the Porcupine River; a fly-in community of about 300 residents.
- Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation — Decline of the Porcupine Caribou Herd highlights the need for greater habitat protectionVadzaih (caribou) central to culture, identity and way of life; living alongside caribou for thousands of years; about 143,000 caribou in 2025, down from 218,000 in 2017; habitat protection.
- Government of Yukon — Digital Service Delivery Guide: Indigenous PeoplesPronunciation of Vuntut Gwitchin: “vun-TUT GWITCH-in.”
Page prepared on September 24, 2026. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.
This drawing is from the book My Canada to Colour
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