The Dene people () are an indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

regions of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages. ''Dene'' is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" has two usages. More commonly, it is used narrowly to refer to the Athabaskan speakers of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

and

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

in Canada, especially including the

Chipewyan The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene Indigenous Canadian people of the Athabaskan language family, whose ancestors are identified ...

(Denesuline), Tlicho (''Dogrib''), Yellowknives (T'atsaot'ine), Slavey (Deh Gah Got'ine or Deh Cho), and

Sahtu The Sahtú or North Slavey (historically called ''Hare'' or ''Hareskin Indians'') are a Dene First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living in the vicinity of Great Bear Lake (''Sahtú'', the source of their ...

(the Eastern group in Jeff Leer's classification; part of the Northwestern Canada group in

Keren Rice Keren Rice (born 1949) is a Canadian linguist. She is a professor of linguistics and serves as the Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Initiatives at the University of Toronto. Education and career Rice earned her PhD in 1976 from the Uni ...

's classification). However, it is sometimes also used to refer to all Northern Athabaskan speakers, who are spread in a wide range all across Alaska and northern Canada. The Southern Athabaskan speakers, however, also refer to themselves by similar words:

Diné The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

(Navajo) and Indé (Apache).

Location

Dene are spread through a wide region. They live in the Mackenzie Valley (south of the

Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...

), and can be found west of

. Their homeland reaches to western

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, and the northern part of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

and the southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Dene were the first people to settle in what is now the

. In northern Canada, historically there were ethnic feuds between the Dene and the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

. In 1996, Dene and Inuit representatives participated in a healing ceremony to reconcile the centuries-old grievances. Behchoko, Northwest Territories is the largest Dene community in Canada.

Ethnography

The Dene include five main groups: *

(Denesuline), living east of

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...

, and including the Sayisi Dene living at Tadoule Lake, Manitoba * Tlicho (Dogrib), living between Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes * Yellowknives (T'atsaot'ine), living north of Great Slave Lake * Slavey (Deh Gah Got'ine or Deh Cho), the North Slavey (Sahtu, (Sahtúot’ine), including the Locheux, Nahanni, and Bear Lake peoples) living along the Mackenzie River (Deh Cho) near Great Bear Lake, the South Slavey southwest of Great Slave Lake and into Alberta and British Columbia. *

(Sahtúot’ine), including the Locheux, Nahanni, and Bear Lake peoples, in the central NWT. Although the above-named groups are what the term "Dene" usually refers to in modern usage, other groups who consider themselves Dene include: * Tsuu T'ina, aka the Sarcee, currently located near

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. * The Beaver people (Danezaa or Dunneza) of northeastern British Columbia and neighbouring regions of northwestern

. * The

Tahltan The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahane' ...

Kaska The Kaska or Kaska Dena are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living mainly in northern British Columbia and the southeastern Yukon in Canada. The Kaska language, originally spoken by the Kaska, is an Athaba ...

, and Sekani people of the

Northern Interior of British Columbia Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

. Another group in this region, the Tsetsaut people, lived in the Portland Canal area of the northernmost BC Coast near the border with

. They are now extinct. * The

Dakelh The Dakelh (pronounced ) or Carrier are the indigenous people of a large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The "Carrier" name was derived from an English translation of ''Aghele'', the name from the neighbouring Sekan ...

(Carrier) peoples of the Northern and Central Interior of British Columbia, and their subgroup the Wet'suwet'en * The Tsilhqot'in people of the eponymous Chilcotin District of the

Central Interior of British Columbia Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

* The extinct Nicola Athapaskans, aka the Stuwix ("strangers" in the

Shuswap language The Shuswap language (; shs, Secwepemctsín ) is the traditional language of the Shuswap people ( shs, Secwépemc ) of British Columbia. An endangered language, Shuswap is spoken mainly in the Central and Southern Interior of British Columbia ...

), migrated south from northern BC into the

Nicola Valley The Nicola Country, also known as the Nicola Valley and often referred to simply as The Nicola, and originally Nicolas' Country or Nicholas' Country, adapted to Nicola's Country and simplified since, is a region in the Southern Interior of British ...

region in the late 18th century and were absorbed into the Nicola people, an alliance of Nlaka'pamux and

Okanagan people The ''Syilx'' () people, also known as the Okanagan, Okanogan or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and British Columbia in the Okanaga ...

s. * The Gwich'in and Tanana and other peoples of

and

are also considered to be Dene, which is to say part of the family of Athapaskan-speaking peoples. 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. The largest population of Denesuline speakers live in the northern Saskatchewan village of La Loche and the adjoining Clearwater River Dene Nation. In 2011 the combined population was 3389 people. The

Denesuline language Chipewyan or Denesuline (ethnonym: ), often simply called Dene, is the language spoken by the Chipewyan people of northwestern Canada. It is categorized as part of the Northern Athabaskan language family. Dënësųłinë́ has nearly 12,000 ...

is spoken by 89% of the residents.

Notable Dene

* Thanadelthur (c. 1697 – 5 February 1717) a woman of the Chipewyan Nation, a guide and interpreter, who was instrumental in forging a peace agreement between the Chipewyan and the Cree people *

Ethel Blondin-Andrew Ethel Dorothy Blondin-Andrew (born 25 March 1951) is a Canadian politician, educator, and public servant. She became the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the Parliament of Canada in 1988 when she became a member of Parliament for the di ...

, former MP for

Western Arctic Northwest Territories (french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada. The electoral district covers the entire territory. This riding was created in 1962 from Mackenzie River ...

(Northwest Territories) *

Leela Gilday Leela Gilday is a Dene-Canadian singer songwriter, born and raised in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She has released five solo albums since 2002, two of which have won the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year. Early life Gi ...

, Canadian folk singer, Juno winner *

Jimmy Herman Jimmy Herman (October 25, 1940 - September 13, 2013) was an Indigenous Canadian actor who appeared in several films, including ''Dances with Wolves''. Biography He was born on the Cold Lake Reserve in Alberta, Canada. His descents were Chi ...

(1940-2013) actor, '' Dances with Wolves'' * Matonabbee (c. 1737–1782), guide for Samuel Hearne's expedition to the

Coppermine River The Coppermine River is a river in the North Slave and Kitikmeot regions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada. It is long. It rises in Lac de Gras, a small lake near Great Slave Lake, and flows generally north to Coronation Gul ...

* Tahmoh Penikett, actor, ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

'' and '' Dollhouse'' * Eric Schweig, actor, ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...

'' * Jim Boucher, politician, businessman *

Shannon Smallwood Shannon H Smallwood is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories The Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories is the name of two different superior courts for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories, which ha ...

, justice of the Supreme Court of the

* Be'sha Blondin, elder and founder of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation

References

External links

Dene Nation

Dene Crafts: Explore photographs, a comprehensive bibliography, and a brief history of Dene Crafts.

Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793 Vol. I
(1902 ed.)
Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793 Vol. II
(1903 ed.)

NWT Historical Timeline, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre {{First Nations in Alberta Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

Location

Ethnography

Notable Dene

See also

References

Further reading

External links