Acho Dene Native Crafts
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About ADNC
Acho Dene Native Crafts began operations in 1976 as a project of the Government of the Northwest Territories and still operates as a Subsidiary of the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation.

Over 40 cottage producers living in the community produce the products sold by the store. These products are made using a blend of ancestral techniques and themes with traditional and modern materials to make birch bark baskets, jewellery, moccasins, mittens, mukluks and other souvenirs.

The business also staffs and maintains a tourist kiosk for the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Industry, Tourism and Investments in its Fort Liard store.
Birchbark
Fort Liard is famous for birch bark baskets, so beautifully crafted that they are considered an original work of art reflecting the traditional ways of the Dene people.

For centuries, Dene of the Liard Valley have used birch bark baskets for picking berries, storing sewing supplies, medicinal herbs and for cooking food.

Today, the women of Fort Liard have lifted that traditional craft to a fine art, by creating unique shapes and decorating them. Baskets are still stitched together in the traditional way with spruce root and a tie of moose hide. These traditional containers are justly famous for their restrained beauty and precision of craft. Baskets come in various sizes, for various purposes. Every part is made by hand from natural materials gathered in the forest.
Moosehide
Moose hide items are produced by local Dene people using skills handed down for countless generations in the Liard and Mackenzie Valleys.  Home-tanned moose hide emits a smoky aroma reminiscent of the North.  

Decorative beadwork, probably developed from quillwork, has been part of Dene heritage since the first glass beads were brought in for trade in the 1700s.  A row of beads is threaded on one strand, which is sewn tightly to the backing with a second needle.  Floral patterns have generally replaced the geometric patterns of the past, and are shared up and down the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers.

Moccasins, gloves, mitts, baby belts, hair ornaments and garments of all sorts are decorated with beadwork.  Each item represents hours of patient hand work. For a wonderful reminder of your visit to the Northwest Territories, take home a pair of hand sewn moccasins, gloves, or mukluks. Try on a fringed and beaded vest or jacket. The rich scent of home-tanned hide will carry you back to your northern adventure. Hides are still tanned by hand and decorated with beads or embroidery in original and unique patterns.

Each garment is one of a kind, an original created with an artisan’s imagination and craft. Warm, sturdy clothing is still made for family members of pure wool stroud or duffle, furs and hide. Home tanned hide, an art in itself, can be added to jackets or vests as a fringe, or yoke. Home tanned moose hide may shape the feet of moccasins or mukluks, or a fine warm pair of mitts. The beading or quillwork on each item is unique, and a true sign of the loving attention to detail of Dene craftswomen.
Crafts
The traditional crafts of the Dene were more than just attractive objects; they all had a use. Birch bark baskets were used as dishes, for collecting berries, for storing items, and for transporting items. Moose hide clothing was used as protection from the elements. Snowshoes were used for hunting and moving about in the winter. Bark canoes were essential for navigating the river highways.

Jewellery and miniature birch bark canoes are popular crafts. The creativity of the artisans is revealed in every item you will see from key chains to moccasins.

Tufting is a form of embroidery perfected by the women of Mackenzie Valley communities. Working with immense patience, the craftswomen shape dyed moose hair into three-dimensional designs on a dark background. Symmetrical flowers are a favourite motif, but whole scenes are created by some gifted artists.

The Dene celebrate their traditions with beading, quillwork, moose hair tufting and hide used in jewellery. Earrings might be made with feathers, iridescent beads and natural porcupine quills, often threaded on fine silver wire. Pins and necklaces are made of tufting or quillwork on hide. Jewel-like collars are woven of coloured threads and strung with transparent, shiny beads.