Fish Camp.

South along the east branch of the Mackenzie there are camps scattered along the high, muddy banks. Many were built over or around sites where people once lived off the land--fishing for winter stores and trapping for the fur trade.

Now they serve as places to escape the "big city" pace of Inuvik, as bases for hunting and fishing trips, destinations for winter ski-doo rides, and homes for some of the last old time bushmen. These individuals still live off of fishing, hunting, and trapping. They are at home anywhere in the delta.

This week I stayed and worked at one of these bush camps. John, Alice, and Robert--the kind people who took me into their home--maintain the traditions of their Gwich'in ancestors who would fish the same eddy each summer--gathering enough dry fish to last them and their dog teams through until spring.