Dene Hand Games

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We are on Treaty Land

We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 8 Territory, a traditional meeting grounds, gathering place, and travelling route to the Cree, Dene, and Dane-zaa (Beaver) and Metis. We acknowledge all the many First Nations, Metis and Inuit whose footsteps have marked these lands for centuries.

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What is Dene Hand Games?

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What is Dene Hand Games?

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Rules

1. There are two teams. Each player has a small object such as a bead or stone to hide in their hand.

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1. Teams kneel on the floor in a line facing the other team. Each team has a blanket covering their knees. The captain sits near the center of the team.

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☺ ☺

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☺ ☺ <- Captain usually sits here

☺ ☺ <- or here

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1. A coin is tossed to start the match. The team winning the coin toss will choose whether to hide first.

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1. The team hiding first will put their hands under the covers to hide their bead in one hand or the other. During this time they will also be CHANTING and MOVING with the drumming music that is being played in the background.

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Rules

1. The captain of the guessing team will point their thumbs up to signify that all the hiders should bring their hands out from under the blanket. Once the hiders lift their hands out from under the blanket they cannot switch the object from hand to hand although they should continue to move and chant.

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1. Once all the hiders have lifted their hands the captain(shooter) of the guessing team will clap their hands warning that they are going to guess(shoot) which side they have concealed their object on by pointing either left, right, knife hand or split shot . Players on the hiding team must open both their hands in front of them to show where they have hidden their bead or stone(If arms are crossed during hiding they must remain crossed). If a player successfully hid their object, they should hold their object out for all to see, and raise their empty hand for the referees to count.

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1. If the hiders successfully deceive the guessing captain they earn a stick for their team.

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1. The successful hiders hide their object again. The players who were caught by the guessing captain continue chanting and moving but do not hide their object. The caught players may not wave their hands in front of the players still participating.

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1. Repeat steps 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 until the captain of the guessing team has successfully caught the last member of the hiding team, then the teams switch.

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1. Continue the hiding and guessing pattern until one team has all the sticks and wins that game. The total points varies depending on the region/number of players/etc - a typical round could include 12 or 17 points.

Hand Signals

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Hand Signals

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Hand Signals

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