The most numerous and widely spread of the Northern Athabaskans, the Chipewyan are further divided by scholars into four groups by geography. Smith discusses the pre-European contact territorial reach of the Chipewyan, noting the importance of caribou herd movements in the seasonal round, as well as other traditional resources that were made use of. After a brief account of the history of Chipewyan and European contact, Smith describes various elements of the culture of the Chipewyan for the period 1715 to 1821, during which little sociocultural change occurred. These elements include socioterritorial organization; the annual round; life cycle; beliefs; and games, music, and material culture. A shorter discussion of Chipewyan culture from 1821 to 1960 is then provided, in which Smith highlights only the socioterritorial organization. Smith closes off the article with a brief look at the sociocultural situation in the 1960s, the various names and synonyms for Chipewyan that exist or have existed, and historical sources.