Nun Cho Ga (Big Animal Baby)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/2292-4736/40394

Keywords:

placer mining, permafrost, decolonial temporality, extraction

Abstract

In 2022, a woolly mammoth baby was discovered in Yukon Territory, on Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in land, by a young placer miner. Named Nun cho ga, which means “big animal baby” in the Hän language spoken by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, the baby is one of the best-preserved woolly mammoths ever discovered. She is around the same size as the Lyuba, who was discovered in Siberia in 2007.

Author Biography

Shelley K O'Brien, University of Toronto

Shelley O’Brien is a multidisciplinary artist, singer-songwriter, and researcher whose work explores themes of time, memory, and ecology through an arts-based and often post-human lens. With a PhD in environmental studies, Shelley has held various roles, including Education Coordinator at the University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain. As a settler with lived experience in Dawson City, Shelley brings a tender perspective to the discovery of Nun cho ga, a young woolly mammoth, engaging questions of extraction, preservation, and temporality. Through both writing and music, Shelley bridges creative expression and environmental consciousness, offering poetic insight into our shared histories and futures.

Cover image for volume 22

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Published

2025-02-24

How to Cite

O’Brien, S. K. (2025). Nun Cho Ga (Big Animal Baby). UnderCurrents: Journal of Critical Environmental Studies, 22, 78–80. https://doi.org/10.25071/2292-4736/40394

Issue

Vol. 22 (2025): Below

Section

Creative

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Shelley K O'Brien

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Creators retain copyright for all writings and artwork published in UnderCurrents. New material published as of Volume 21 (2022) is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0).