Dogribs

Dog-ribs, The, North American, aborigines, who belong to the Chippewayan division of the Athabascan race. [Chippewayan.] The Dog-ribs are the Slaves, Slaves and Yellow-knives of the Franco-Canadian and English trappers; but they call themselves Thing-e-la-dtinne, and their domain lies chiefly about the Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes, the latter named from them. In this region the medium of intercourse is the so-called "Slave jargon," a Dog-rib dialect mixed with Cree, Franco-Canadian and English elements. The Dog-ribs, who are so named from the national legend of their canine descent, are amongst the few North American Indians who practise the rite of circumcision. They are largely employed as trappers and carriers by the Hudson Bay Company, which maintains the two important stations of Fort Rae and Fort Simpson in their territory.