An introduction to Northwest Territories: its history, its Nations and treaties, and Indigenous community life today, with sources.
Indigenous history of Northwest Territories
Roughly half the population is Indigenous, belonging to Dene, Inuvialuit and Métis peoples, and the territory recognizes 11 official languages, nine of them Indigenous: Chipewyan, Cree, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłı̨chǫ. Treaty 8 reaches the south, and Treaty 11 was signed in 1921 north of Great Slave Lake. Modern agreements followed: the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (1984), the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (1992), the Sahtu Dene and Métis agreement (1993) and the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement (2003), which combined land claims with self-government. Dene and Inuit communities supported themselves by hunting and fishing across this land long before Europeans arrived. Oil found at Fort Norman in 1920 spurred the signing of Treaty 11 the following year. On October 3, 1969, sixteen chiefs formed the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories, responding to the federal White Paper. On July 19, 1975, more than 300 delegates in Fort Simpson adopted the Dene Declaration. It called for recognition of a Dene nation within the Mackenzie Valley. The Brotherhood became the Dene Nation at an assembly in Fort Norman in August 1978.
Treaty and territory
The Northwest Territories are covered by Treaties 8 and 11 and by modern land claim agreements, including those of the Inuvialuit, Gwich’in, Sahtu and Tłı̨chǫ. About half of the population is Indigenous: Dene, Inuvialuit and Métis.
Nearby: Yellowknife · Behchokǫ̀ · Inuvik · Hay River · Fort Smith · Dettah
Regions of Northwest Territories
Tourism and government maps divide the territory into several regions, and Indigenous governance lines up closely with them. The Western Arctic around Inuvik, Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok is Inuvialuit and Gwich'in land. Comprehensive land claim agreements cover both peoples. Farther up the Mackenzie, the Sahtu region takes in Colville Lake, Délı̨nę, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells and Tulita. The Sahtu Dene and Métis agreement settled obligations under Treaty 11 there. The North Slave region holds Yellowknife, Dettah, Lutsel K'e, Behchokǫ̀, Gamètì, Wekweètì and Whatì. Here the Tłı̨chǫ agreement stands out as the territory's only settled agreement combining land, resources and self-government. In the southwest, the Dehcho region includes Fort Simpson, Fort Liard, Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte, Sambaa K'e and Wrigley. Dehcho First Nations and Acho Dene Koe are still negotiating there. The South Slave covers Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, Fort Providence, Enterprise and Kakisa. Kátł'odeeche First Nation, near Hay River, is in its own rights recognition talks, while Akaitcho and Métis negotiations reach across the south. Transboundary talks involve Nations based in Yukon, Saskatchewan and Manitoba whose traditional lands cross into the territory.
Indigenous Northwest Territories today
Indigenous governance in the Northwest Territories is shared among seven regional governments. They are the Akaitcho Territory Government, Dehcho First Nations, Gwich'in Tribal Council, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Northwest Territory Métis Nation, Sahtu Secretariat and Tłı̨chǫ Government. Four community-based governments add to that list, including the Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę Government and Salt River First Nation. Délı̨nę has its own self-government agreement. Salt River First Nation signed a treaty settlement agreement. Negotiations continue on many fronts. Akaitcho, Dehcho, Acho Dene Koe and the Northwest Territory Métis Nation are working on land, resources and self-government agreements. Gwich'in, Inuvialuit and four Sahtu communities are negotiating self-government. In 2001, the territory made June 21 a statutory holiday for National Indigenous Peoples Day. In Yellowknife, the annual fish fry at Somba K'e Civic Plaza serves more than 3,000 whitefish fillets to crowds of up to 7,000. Métis jiggers, fiddlers, Inuit throat singers and the Yellowknives Dene Drummers perform. Fort Simpson holds canoe races at the Ehdaa Historical Site. Délı̨nę starts its day with bannock baking on Great Bear Lake, and Inuvik's celebration features the blanket toss.
Communities in Northwest Territories
