(Redirected from Dene Tha\' First Nation):: ''In
Northumbrian a
dene means a steep-sided valley. For the
electoral ward in the
United Kingdom, see
Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne.''
The 'Dene' are a group of
First Nations that live in the Arctic regions of
Canada. The Dene speak
Northern Athabaskan languages (Northwestern Canada group) of the
Na-Dené language family. They were the first people to settle in what is now the
Northwest Territories.
The Dene include five main groups:
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Chipewyan (Denesuline), living east of
Great Slave Lake;
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Tli Cho (Dogrib), living between Great Slave and
Great Bear Lakes;
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Yellowknives (T'atsaot'ine), formerly living north of Great Slave Lake, and now absorbed into the Chipewyan;
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Slavey (Deh Gah Got'ine), living along the
Mackenzie River (Deh Cho) southwest of Great Slave Lake;
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Sahtu (Sahtu' T'ine), including the Locheux, Nahanni, and Bear Lake peoples, in the southwestern NWT.
Well-known Dene include
Ethel Blondin-Andrew, former MP for
Western Arctic (the federal riding that comprises the Northwest Territories). The Canadian television series
North of 60 took place among a Dene community.
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.
Behchoko, Northwest Territories is the largest Dene community in Canada.
External links
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Dene Nation
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People of the Deh Cho