The Robe That Survived The Centuries

Among all the physical evidence recovered with Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi, the robe is perhaps the most immediately human — the garment that most directly connects the abstract scientific findings to the concrete reality of a person who dressed himself, traveled through cold country, and expected to complete a journey.

The robe was made primarily from the skins of ground squirrels — small rodents that are abundant in the subarctic landscape and that have been harvested for their pelts by Indigenous peoples of the interior for millennia.

The construction of the robe reflected specific technical knowledge: the skins had been prepared (dehaired, tanned, or otherwise processed) and sewn together in a configuration that balanced warmth, coverage, and mobility — the practical requirements of a garment that would be worn while traveling through alpine terrain.