The Gwich'in people (called in this book Takudh; also known as Kutchin) live in the northern part of the Yukon, and adjacent Northwest Territories and Alaska, as may be seen on the map below. In Alaska, the Gwich'in have been particularly active in fighting the proposed opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

The Gwich'in language is, along with many in Western Canada, part of the Athabaskan family. There are currently about 7-800 speakers.

The Gwich'in were evangelized early by Anglican missionaries, and one of the first printed books in the language was a translation by Robert McDonald of portions of the Book of Common Prayer, in 1873. This book was expanded and revised over the years, with the latest revision being from 1924. The book presented here is a 1957 printing of that 1924 revision, and is listed in David Griffiths' Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer as 82:5. In spite of this date, the prayers for the King are for George V, as in 1924. Earlier, less complete editions are available online as PDF graphics: an 1885 edition (Griffiths 82:2) from the Internet Archive, an 1899 edition (Griffiths 82:3) from Google Books and a 1912 expanded version of the 1899 edition, from the Internet Archive. Archdeacon McDonald, translator of this text, is commemorated in the Anglican Church of Canada, and provisionally by the Episcopal Church. Hudson Stuck, another missionary among the Gwich'in, has also been commemorated provisionally by the Episcopal Church.

As with many indigenous American languages, the orthography of the Gwich'in language has changed recently, primarily in this case because the spoken language itself has changed. As a result, current spelling of Gwich'in is rather different from that presented here.

A good indication of the current use of Gwich'in as an Anglican liturgical language is given in an article from the Yukon Native Language Centre.

Map showing area where Gwich'in is spoken.
(from the Yukon Native Language Centre)
 

THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK

THE ORDER FOR MORNING PRAYER . . . . . . . . 7

THE ORDER FOR EVENING PRAYER . . . . . . . . 28

THE CREED OF ST. ATHANASIUS . . . . . . . . 43

THE LITANY . . . . . . . . 47

PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS FOR SEVERAL OCCASIONS . . . . . . . . 57

THE COLLECTS, WITH REFERENCES FOR EPISTLES AND GOSPELS TO BE USED AT MINISTRATION OF HOLY COMMPNION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR . . . . . . . . 73

THE ORDER OF MINISTRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION . . . . . . . . 116

THE ORDER OF PUBLIC BAPTISM. . . . . . . . . 148

THE ORDER OF PRIVATE BAPTISM . . . . . . . . 158

THE ORDER OF BAPTISM FOR THOSE OF RIPER YEARS . . . . . . . . 166

THE CATECHISM . . . . . . . . 177

THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION . . . . . . . . 186

A TABLE OF KINDRED AND AFFINITY . . . . . . . . 193

THE FORM OF SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY . . . . . . . . 194

THE ORDER FOR THE VISITATION OF THE SICK 206
THE COMMUNION OF THE SICK . . . . . . . . 223

THE ORDER FOR BURIAL OF THE DEAD . . . . . . . . 226

THE THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AFTER CHILDBIRTH . . . . . . . . 239

A COMMINATION . . . . . . . . 243

THE PSALTER. . . . . . . . . 254

A PRAYER FOR THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL. . . . . . . . . 447

THE FORM OF MAKING AND ORDAINING DEACONS. . . . . . . . . 449

TABLES OF LESSONS . . . . . . . . 467

TABLE OF PROPER PSALMS . . . . . . . . 469

TABLES AND RULES FOR THE FEASTS AND FASTS THROUGH THE WHOLE YEAR . . . . . . . . 490