First Nations
The Dené, an aboriginal group of First Nations, were the first people to settle in what is now the Northwest Territories and they live in the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. De means flow and Ne means Mother Earth. The Dené homeland called Denendeh means the creator’s spirit flows through this land. The Dené live in the Mackenzie Valley with the Denendeh homeland spreading through the western Yukon, northern BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the lower United States.
The Dene are part of a larger group called Athabaskan and speak Athabaskan languages. The Athabaskan family is the second largest family in North America in terms of number of languages and the number of speakers. The Dené have a linguistic relative in the US: the Diné or Navajo who speak Southern Athabaskan. Behchoko, Northwest Territories is the largest Dene community in Canada.
There are seven Dené groups including the Chipewyan or Denesuline living east of Great Slave Lake; the Sayisi in Manitoba, the Tli Cho or Dogrib living between Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes; the Yellowknives or T’atsaot’ine formerly living north of Great Slave Lake and now absorbed into the Chipewyan, the Slavey or Deh Gah Got’ine living along the southern parts of the Mackenzie River, the Deh Cho living southwest of Great Slave Lake; and, the Sahtu or Sahtu’ T’ine living in the central NWT.
Yukon First Nations were hunters, trappers and fishermen. In the summer, their main activity was to catch spawning salmon and in the fall they hunted primarily migrating caribou, along with moose and dall or stone sheep. Their lives required them to move through the territory and much was cached at traditional camps on established trails. The people did possessed an incredible knowledge of the land and how to live on it. There is a growing interest among Yukon First Nations to recapture and nurture their traditional culture.
In the Yukon, the Athabaskans are split into eight groups including Gwitchin living in Old Crow; Han from Dawson City; Northern Tutchone from Mayo, Carmacks and Pelly Crossing; Southern Tutchone from Whitehorse, Haines Junction, Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay; Kaska from Ross River and Watson Lake; Tagish from Tagish; Tlingit from Carcross and Teslin; and, Upper Tanana from Beaver Creek.
Featured Adventures
- Tischu River
Our exploratory trip on the Tischu River, a tributary of the Keele River
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It has been a long-standing dream of Canoe North Adventures …
- The Redstone River Exploratory Expedition 2009
The Redstone River is unique in that…
- Canol Heritage Trail Exploratory Hike
At Canoe North, we are always intrigued with the prospect of a grand adventure…
- Ice Road
The trip took eight days and the last two days …
- Exploratory Trips
In 2009, we are planning two more exploratory trips…
- New Air Services and Canoeing Base for CNA
at the North-Wright Airways float base in Norman Wells…
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