- Dunneza
The Dunneza (also Dunne-za, Dane-zaa, Tasttine, and historicially often referred to as the Beaver tribe by Europeans) are a
First Nation of theAthapaskan language group, whose traditional territory is around the Peace River of the provinces ofAlberta andBritish Columbia ,Canada . About 1,000 Dane-zaa live inBritish Columbia as part ofDoig River First Nation ,Blueberry River First Nation ,Halfway River First Nation andProphet River First Nation communities.Prior to 1800 they inhabited lands further east, near the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers, and north to
Lake Athabaska . In the 18th century, this area was opened to fur trading. The Chippewa, a powerful people to the east of the Dunneza, had become highly dependent on the European goods and the maintenance of a trade monopoly with the traders. To maintain their proximity and influence, the Chippewa moved with the traders westward into the Athabasca, forcing the Dunneza north and west from their lands to those near the Peace River. By 1800, the Dunneza had relocated to this new territory. In 1899, many Dunneza communities signedTreaty 8 with the government of Canada.Language
ounds
Consonants
Dunneza has 35 consonants:
Vowels
Dunneza has 10 phonemic vowels.
Two vowels contrast oral and nasal qualities.
External links
* [http://www.doigriverfn.com/ Doig River First Nation]
* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/images/map2.jpgMap of Northwest Coast First Nations] (including Dunneza)
* [http://www.ydli.org/langs/beaver.htm Beaver page on First Nations Languages of British Columbia site, with bibliography]
* [http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/exhibits/journeys/english/forest_2_2a.html Living In A Storied Land]Royal British Columbia Museum
* [http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/prnr/dane_zaa/report.html The Dane-Zaa Living Landscape of Northeastern BC]Royal British Columbia Museum Bibliography
* Cook, Eung-Do; & Rice, Keren (Eds.). (1989). "Athapaskan linguistics: Current perspectives on a language family". Trends in linguistics, State of-the-art reports (No. 15). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 0-89925-282-6.
* Story, Gillian. (1989). Problems of phonemic representation in Beaver. In E.-D. Cook & K. Rice (Eds.), "Athapaskan linguistics: Current perspectives on a language family" (pp. 63-98). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
