Iyagaagmiut: People Who Live among the Rock Caches

Set during the first half of the 18th century, Ïyaġaaġmiut tells the story of the Nendaaghe Dena
people and their forced relocation across the Western Brooks Range of Alaska. Natural forces,
including Indonesia's Tambora volcano eruption in 1815 and Mt. Zavaritsky in the Kuril Islands
in 1831, led to famine and hardship, ultimately driving their migration. The arrival of new trade
goods from European nations and the Americas further disrupted their way of life, sparking
conflicts that set their westward displacement into motion. This story of place, language, and
adaptation follows Nendaaghe Dena families as their descendants spread across the Eastern
Brooks Range, Western Canada, and North America, offering insight into the historical
movements that shaped contemporary communities.

Ch'igiioonta' She Holds a Child is a direct seventh-generation descendant of Nendaaghe
hut'aane Dena, in the household of Tl'eevihti' and a sixth-generation member of the Gehikti'
family. Ch'igiioonta' lives and works in Fairbanks, Alaska.