ABSTRACT

The Anglican man in his twenties, Robert McDonald, would become an integral part of Gwich’in life and an extraordinarily prolific writer publishing pivotal local religious texts such as the published Takudh Bible, the Takudh hymns, the Takudh prayers and the subsequent A Grammar of the Takudh Language. This chapter examines in great detail the work by Archdeacon Robert McDonald. It begins with McDonald’s diary and work. From there, the chapter discusses the crafting of dictionaries, first by fur traders and afterwards by missionaries of which McDonald’s grammar book has become the most widely used. Having outlined in more detail the intricate making and becoming of the Takudh Bible and other religious texts, the chapter provides information on the incorporation of the Takudh Bible in Gwich’in Country and the use of Takudh grammar. McDonald recounted the waxing and waning of the ‘Indian afternoon school’, due to lack of room and attendance by Gwich’in.