Long ago, when we had free time, gambling was a favorite pastime. Our gambling games were similar to those played on the coast and those played inland. Most gambling games were played by men. Women had only one game, similar to our dice games, with only one die used. Today, however, men, women and children all play the same gambling games if they wish to. The gambling games were guessing games. The following game, which uses gambling sticks, was one of the favorites.

Gambling sticks were made in two sizes.

Larger sticks were about 20 to 30 cm or 8 to 12 inches long and about 1 to 2 cm or half to 1 inch in diameter. From 18 to 30 sticks were in a bundle. The exact number was agreed upon by the gamblers. Only one set of these were used during a gambling match.

Smaller sticks are about 10 to 15 cm or 4 to 6 inches long and about 1 to 2 cm or half to 1 inch in diameter. Each person had two bundles of sticks with about 12 to 30 sticks in each bundle. This way, a gambler could change sticks "for luck".

In each bundle, one stick is different. It is called the ehke (foot) stick. Nowadays it is called the joker or trump stick. It has a different design or is a different colour from the other sticks. It is the winning stick and must always be won last. All the other sticks are called painted sticks (tchar).

In his book, Emmons reports that some of the older people had special names for their sticks. Naming sticks was not a tradition. That is, it was something done by individuals, not something done by everyone.

Our gambling sticks were plain with very simple designs. The design might be an arrangement of lines, geometric shapes, or simple representations of animals. They were painted red or black.

Over the years, the rules of the games have changed some. For example, Emmons (1906) talks about hiding sticks (also called toggles) in bundles of straw. Today the sticks are hidden in a person's hands.

Some parts of the game have not changed. For instance, during the gambling match, gambling songs have always been sung. Some have words, some have vocals (not real words), and others have only a fast drum rhythm.

Sometimes drums will have two thin strips of dried hide lightly stretched over the face of the drum. These strips allow additional rattles to sound and increase the tempo of the music. Often the drumsticks are made of thin strips of wood with no hide covering. This type of drumstick increases the sound of the drum as well as making a different sound.

The gambling song is played...

The following is one form of the gambling game as it is played today:

1.The game is played with teams. Usually there are 5 or 6 people to a team. They sit facing each other.

2.One team chooses a "Shooter" or "Pointer". That person's task is to guess in which hands of the opposite team the toggles are hidden.

3.To decide which team hides toggles first, one side starts the play and the shooter from the other side guesses. Count the number of correct guesses (toggles). Then the other side hides the toggles and the opposing shooter guesses. Count the toggles. The one with the most toggles (correct guesses), choose what his team is to do first.

4.Each team member who will be hiding toggles must show the shooter they are holding one toggle in their hands.

5.Each person then hides their hands under a blanket which covers their knees. They put the toggle in one hand.

6.They then put their hands out in the open with them closed so that no one can see the toggle. The shooter then guesses which hand has the toggle. The shooter guesses for each person. He can guess for each person or for all at once.

7.Shooter's hand signals: There are many different hand signals that the shooter can use. Perhaps there are 25 to 30 signals. The signals used vary from community to community. Some of the basic hand signals are:

Shooter points with index finger in one direction. All people open the hand of the side the finger is pointing.

Shooter points index finger and raises thumb. The thumb means the last person in the row on the side the thumb points opens their outside hand. The rest of the people open the hand of the side the finger is pointing.

Shooter puts palms together vertically and points between any tow people then signals with thumb and index finger. The people with the finger pointing to them open the hand on the side the finger is pointing. The people on the other side, where the thumb points, open the hand on the side the thu mb is pointing.

If a person touches the floor and says, "Dene" (man) or "Go" (or other word agreed upon), the people hiding the toggles must cross their arms and leave them crossed until the end of that sequence of plays. The left hand then becomes the right, and the right hand becomes the left.

8.If playing with one set of sticks, they are placed in the middle. The team hiding their hands are given one stick to start with. To win, they must win all the sticks.

When the shooter guesses, he takes all of the toggles he guesses correctly and puts them in the middle. The players he guessed correctly are out of the game for that round.

The players the shooter did not guess correctly take a toggle from the middle. They will take as many as the shooter guessed incorrectly.

The players who were not guessed now show their toggle and hide the toggle as before.

This is repeated until the last player has been guessed correctly.

Then the teams change so that those who were hiding the toggle now choose a shooter. The shooter's team now hides the toggles.

The game is won when all the sticks from the middle, and all the sticks the other team won have been won by one side. The average game time is 20 to 30 minutes.

Every group has its own way playing the game and its own hand signals. Rules of etiquette, what is considered polite behaviour, might vary also. However, there is one rule that is very, very strict: No cheating allowed! In some communities, anyone caught cheating would perhaps be given one chance. Cheating a second time might result in that person being banned from gambling in the community.

Cheating at gambling was considered to be an individual's personal choice of behaviour. Although this behaviour would reflect on the honour of the Family group, the penalty was not paid by the Family. The penalty affected only the individual who chose to cheat.

Carrying Bag

Each set or bundle of sticks is carried in a special carrying bag. This bag is like a scarf with each end sewn into a round pouch. The long strap between the pouches served as a carrying strap or was thrown over the shoulder.

These bags were made of caribou hide decorated with a strip of coloured cloth. Further decoration was done with beads or dentalium or tufts of cloth. (Emmons wrote that he had never seen this double set of gambling sticks or this type of carrying bag anywhere else.)

Bear Mat

Long ago, our people used to sit opposite each other while gambling. They would place a strip of bear skin between them. It was about 1 m (or 1 yard) long and 20 to 30 cm (or 8 to 12 inches) wide. They placed the gambling sticks on this bear skin mat. Nowadays this mat can be made of many types of materials. Even a bear skin can be used, but is not used very often. Other types of fabric are easy to buy and easy to keep clean.

Team Blanket

In the past, when it was our turn to hide the toggles, we used to hide our hands under a coat or a blanket. Today, we can use fabric to make a team blanket. We can use different types of designs and materials to make our own. For example, we might choose to make a button blanket, with our own special design or our Clan design on it.

Women's Game

In early days, women played a game of hand skill. This game was played with one die (singular of dice). This was made of wood or bone and had a carved design. It was tossed in the air. Depending on the way it fell, it counted as zero, one, or two. Small counter sticks are used to keep track of the score. When one player had all of the sticks, they won the game.

We Tahltans still enjoy gambling. Our traditional stick gambling is being taught in schools. We have learned to play other games that involve gambling. We also gamble using cards, Bingo games, the Lottery, or Slot machines.

Gambling is fun, but it can become an addiction, something that takes over our lives. It is the responsibility of each of us to keep balance in our lives. And play is important to that balance. The secret, our elders tell us, is to learn how to have fun and keep control of our lives.