Abstract This article proposes a perspectival shift in views of Kaska storytellers’ code-switching to appreciate its verbal artistry, its role indexing features of the colonial encounter, and its connections to Kaska ontology. Despite the major social and economic changes experienced by Kaskas, the basic features of their lived reality remain unchanged, and they remain open to understanding the k'eh “ways” of other dene “people”, including those of animals and other animate beings. While English speakers may devalue the language shifts of Kaska storytellers, such shifts enhance their authority as prominent men who were among the first to assume paid positions, as creative storytellers well informed about oral traditions, and as eye-witnesses to dramatic events.