Iyagaagmiut

Set during the first half of the 18th century, Iyagaagmiut 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.