Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation celebrates Vadzaih Choo Drin 2025 and commitment to ensuring the protection of the Porcupine caribou herd

Last month, the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) gathered for Vadzaih Choo Drin (Big Caribou Days), an annual celebration in Old Crow, Yukon, marking the return of the Porcupine caribou herd.

Each spring, the Porcupine caribou herd completes one of the longest land migrations on earth, returning to the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to give birth to thousands of caribou calves. This ancient cycle is central to the way of life of the Gwich’in, which has always been tied to the herd and is rooted in respect, stewardship and survival. As the caribou pass by Old Crow, they bring with them a sense of renewal and hope and the promise of new life. 

During the celebration, VGFN and guests in the community honored Vadzaih (caribou) through storytelling, traditional games, dances and community feasts. Elders passed on the knowledge, values and responsibilities that have sustained the Gwich’in since time immemorial, and hunters shared their observations of the herd over the past year. 

As part of the weekend’s events, the Porcupine Caribou Management Board and the Porcupine Caribou Technical Committee provided an update on the status of the herd. Although a photo census has not been possible since 2017, based on key indicators, current modelling indicates the herd is likely stable or declining slightly. Plans are underway to prioritize a full photo census in 2025 to get an updated population count.
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The celebration also served as a platform for renewed strategy discussions on the threat to the herds’ calving grounds in Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit (The Sacred Place Where Life Begins)—the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 

Updates on the renewed push by the Trump Administration to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development were shared by VGFN’s Board Members on the Gwich’in Steering Committee and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Yukon. The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation reaffirmed its determination to use every legislative, regulatory, and legal tool available to ensure its protections. 

Just days after the gathering, on May 21, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by single vote, a federal budget bill which mandates four additional oil and gas lease sales to fast-track drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to help pay for tax cuts made.

Despite overwhelming evidence that industry has lost interest in the area as demonstrated by two failed lease sales, along with the abandonment of legacy leases, this reckless plan could move through the U.S. Senate with only a simple majority vote. This latest legislative development in the United States further highlights the urgent and critical importance of efforts of the Gwich’in Nation to protect the Porcupine caribou herd and its habitat as discussed throughout the weekend. ‍

Vadzaih Choo Drin (Big Caribou Days) remains an important celebration of VGFN’s deep connection to the Porcupine caribou, and embodies the enduring commitment to safeguard the herd for future generations.

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Quotes:

“Vadzaih Choo Drin is a time of celebration, reflection, kinship and teaching. It is a joyful gathering, and also a reminder of what is at stake. Protecting the Porcupine caribou means protecting the heart of who we are as Gwich’in. It means safeguarding the continued health and sovereignty of our community; and it means ensuring that future generations can gather, as we do each spring, to celebrate Vadzaih.”

“Drilling in Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit—the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—will jeopardize a cycle of life that has endured for millennia. It would threaten the very survival of the Porcupine caribou herd and with it, the cultural, spiritual, and physical well-being of our Nation. Our connection to the Porcupine caribou herd knows no borders, nor will our efforts to protect it.”

‍—Deputy Chief Harold Frost Jr., Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Co-Chair of the Gwich’in Steering Committee

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Media Inquiries: 

Gyde Shepherd (he/him), Communications Manager
Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation
gyde.shepherd@vgfn.ca | (613) 804-4273