Awokanak | |
---|---|
Total population | |
2,630 (2016 census) [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Canada (Northwest Territories, Alberta) | |
Languages | |
English, North and South Slavey language | |
Religion | |
Animism, Christianity, Slavey Religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Sahtu (North Slavey) |
The Slavey (also Awokanak, Slave, and South Slavey) are a First Nations group of Indigenous peoples in Canada. They speak the Slavey language, a part of the Athabaskan languages. Part of the Dene people, their homelands are in the Great Slave Lake region, in Canada's Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia, and northwestern Alberta.
Slavey or just Slave is a translation of Awokanak, [2] the name given to Dene by the Cree "who sometimes raided and enslaved their less aggressive northern neighbors[ sic ]". [3] [4] [5] The names of the Slave River, Lesser Slave River, Great Slave Lake, and Lesser Slave Lake all derive from this Cree name. Esclaves remains incorporated in the French names of these geographical features, since the French traded with the Cree before the English did. The people now called Slavey in English were not necessarily taken as slaves in that period.
The name Slavey is seldom used by the people themselves, who call themselves Dene. Indigenous ethnonyms for South Slavey people and language are Dehcho, Deh Cho Dene ("Mackenzie River People") or Dene Tha . [6]
Though most Athabaskan peoples call themselves Dene, those in the Northwest Territories tend to use it for their particular group specifically. However, the northern Slavey are also known in English as the Sahtú, while the southern band are known as the Deh Cho. [7]
The South Slavey live in northwestern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, and the southern Northwest Territories. First Nations of South Slavey people: [8]
The Sahtu, Sahtu Dene ("Great Bear Lake People") or North Slavey people live exclusively in the Northwest Territories. They speak the North Slavey language.
The Navajo people (Diné) of the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States are said to be descended from the Nahani, who lived where the Nahanni National Park Reserve is, and also the Slavey of Northern Canada. [12]
Most residents of Lynx River, the fictional town in which CBC drama North of 60 is set, are Slavey. Though the word itself is seldom mentioned in dialogue (band members generally identifying themselves as Dene), the town is located in Slavey territory and on one occasion a character proposes a toast before the assembled members in the Slavey language.[ citation needed ]
Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the deepest lake in North America at 614 m (2,014 ft), and the tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It is 469 km (291 mi) long and 20 to 203 km wide. It covers an area of 27,200 km2 (10,500 sq mi) in the southern part of the territory. Its given volume ranges from 1,070 km3 (260 cu mi) to 1,580 km3 (380 cu mi) and up to 2,088 km3 (501 cu mi) making it the 10th or 12th largest by volume.
The Chipewyan are a Dene Indigenous Canadian people of the Athabaskan language family, whose ancestors are identified with the Taltheilei Shale archaeological tradition. They are part of the Northern Athabascan group of peoples, and hail from what is now Western Canada.
Slavey is a group of Athabaskan languages and a dialect continuum spoken amongst the Dene peoples of Canada in the Northwest Territories – or central Denendeh – where it also has official status. The languages are primarily written using a modified Latin script, with some using Canadian Aboriginal syllabics. In their own languages, these languages are referred to as: Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́, K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ and Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ in the North, and Dené Dháh, Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé in the South.
The Dene people are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" has two uses:
The Sahtú or North Slavey are a Dene First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living in the vicinity of Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. The Sahtú peoples live in Colville Lake, Deline, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells and Tulita which form the Sahtu Region of the NWT. The Dene of the region are represented by the Sahtu Dene Council who, in 1993, signed the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement. Sahtú groups include the Hare Dene, Bear Lake Dene, and Mountain Dene. They call themselves also Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨ne.
Fort Simpson is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an island at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Liard rivers. It is approximately 500 km (310 mi) west of Yellowknife. Both rivers were traditionally trade routes for the Hudson's Bay Company and the native Dene people of the area.
A tribal council is an association of First Nations bands in Canada, generally along regional, ethnic or linguistic lines.
Fort Providence is a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Located west of Great Slave Lake, it has all-weather road connections by way of the Yellowknife Highway branch off the Mackenzie Highway, and the Deh Cho Bridge opened November 30, 2012, near Fort Providence over the Mackenzie. The bridge replaced the ice bridge and ferry, enabling year-round crossing of the river.
Northern Athabaskan is a geographic sub-grouping of the Athabaskan language family spoken by indigenous peoples in the northern part of North America, particularly in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The sprachraum of Northern Athabaskan languages spans the interior of Alaska to the Hudson Bay in Canada and from the Arctic Circle to the Canadian-US border. Languages in the group include Dane-zaa, Chipewyan, Babine-Witsuwitʼen, Carrier, and Slavey;. The Northern Athabaskan languages consist of 31 languages that can be divided into seven geographic subgroups.
The Yellowknives, Yellow Knives, Copper Indians, Red Knives or T'atsaot'ine are indigenous peoples of Canada, one of the five main groups of the First Nations Dene who live in the Northwest Territories. The name, which is also the source for the later community of Yellowknife, derives from the colour of the tools made from copper deposits.
Sambaa K'e is a "Designated Authority" in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located near the Alberta border, east of Fort Liard, on the shore of the lake also known as Sambaa K'e. It has no all-weather road, but can be reached by winter road early in the year or by air year-round.
Łutselkʼe, also spelt Łutsël Kʼé, is a "designated authority" in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is on the south shore near the eastern end of Great Slave Lake and until 1 July 1992, it was known as Snowdrift, as the community lies near the mouth of the Snowdrift River.
The Dene TháFirst Nation is a First Nations government of the South Slavey in Northern Alberta, Canada. The people call themselves Dene Dháa or 'Ordinary People' in the Dene Dháh language. Its population is centered primarily in three communities: Bushe River, Meander River, and Chateh, but approximately 600 members who live off-reserve. Dene Thá First Nation is Treaty 8 nation and a member of the North Peace Tribal Council.
The Dehcho Region or Deh Cho is one of five administrative regions in the Northwest Territories of Canada. According to Municipal and Community Affairs the region consists of six communities with the regional office situated in Fort Simpson. All communities in the Dehcho are predominantly Dehcho First Nations.
The Dehcho First Nations is a tribal council representing the Dene and Métis people of the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is made up of ten First Nations bands and two Métis Locals.
Deh Cho or Dehcho is the Dene name of the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It can also refer to:
Region 4 is the name of a Statistics Canada census division, one of six in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was introduced in the 2011 census, along with Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6, resulting in the abolition of the former census divisions of Fort Smith Region and Inuvik Region. Unlike in some other provinces, census divisions do not reflect the organization of local government in the Northwest Territories. These areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own.
The South Slave Divisional Education Council (SSDEC) is the public school board for the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Its responsibility includes all schools within the five communities of the South Slave. Specifically, it is responsible for schools in the communities of Fort Resolution, Fort Smith, K'atl'odeche First Nation, Hay River, and Łutselk'e. Given the vast distances between communities, and the relatively small populations, the eight schools of the South Slave range in enrolment from 60 to 240 students with a total of 1,300. Although considered part of the South Slave Region by other departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories, the communities of Fort Providence and Kakisa are served by the Dehcho Divisional Education Council and not the SSDEC.
The Sambaa Kʼe First Nation is a Dene First Nations band government in the Northwest Territories. The band is headquartered in the community of Sambaa Kʼe, formerly Trout Lake.
The Dehcho Divisional Education Council is the public school board for the Dehcho Region, in the Northwest Territories. Located in Fort Simpson the education council represents nine schools in eight communities.