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Dene

[deen]

The Dene (Dené) are an aboriginal group of First Nations who live in the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. Dene is a compound of two words: De means "flow" and Ne meaning "Mother Earth". Dene homeland is referred to as Denendeh, meaning "the Creator's Spirit flows through this Land". The Dene speak the Athabaskan languages.

Location

Dene are spread through a wide region. They live in the Mackenzie Valley (south of the Inuvialuit), and can be found west of Nunavut. Their homeland reaches to western Yukon, and the northern part of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alaska and the lower United States.

Dene were the first people to settle in what is now the Northwest Territories. In northern Canada, historically there were ethnic feuds between the Dene and the Inuit.

Behchoko, Northwest Territories is the largest Dene community in Canada.

Ethnography

The Dene include five main groups:

Chipewyan (Denesuline), living east of Great Slave Lake, and including the Sayisi Dene living at Tadoule Lake, Manitoba
Tli Cho (Dogrib), living between Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes
Yellowknives (T'atsaot'ine), formerly living north of Great Slave Lake, and now absorbed into the Chipewyan
Slavey (Deh Gah Got'ine or Deh Cho), living along the Mackenzie River (Deh Cho) southwest of Great Slave Lake
Sahtu (Sahtu' T'ine), including the Locheux, Nahanni, and Bear Lake peoples, in the southwestern NWT.

In 2005 elders from the Dene People decided to join the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) seeking recognition for their ancestral cultural and land rights.

Language

The Dené speak Northern Athabaskan languages (Northwestern Canada group) of the Na-Dené language family. The Dené have a linguistic relative in the US: the Diné (Navajo), who speak Southern Athabaskan.

Notable Dene

Ethel Blondin-Andrew, former MP for Western Arctic, the federal riding that comprises the Northwest Territories.
Leela Gilday, Canadian folk singer, Juno winner (2007), nominee (2003), 3x Canadian Aboriginal Music Award winner (2002)
Kathy Ettibar, Well known Canadian chat personality and musician
Lynx River, the fictional town on the Canadian television series North of 60 was a Slavey Dene community.