Tulita, which in Slavey means "where the rivers or waters meet", is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the

Sahtu Region The Sahtu Region is an administrative region in Canada's Northwest Territories. Coterminous with the settlement region described in the 1993 Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, of the Sahtu is collectively owned by its I ...

of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, Canada. It was formerly known as ''Fort Norman'', until 1 January 1996. It is located at the junction of the

Great Bear River The Great Bear River, which drains the Great Bear Lake westward through marshes into the Mackenzie River, forms an important transportation link during its four ice-free months. It originates at south-west bay of the lake. The river has irregula ...

and the

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

; the Bear originates at

Great Bear Lake Great Bear Lake (; ) in the boreal forest of Canada is the largest List of lakes of Canada, lake entirely in Canada (Lake Superior and Lake Huron are larger but straddle the Canada–United States border, Canada–US border), the fourth-larges ...

adjacent to Deline. Tulita is in an area that is forested and well south of the tree line.

Permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

underlies the area, more or less continuous in distribution. Tulita is surrounded by mountains, the latter renowned for

Dall sheep ''Ovis dalli'', also known as the Dall sheep or thinhorn sheep, is a species of wild sheep native to northwestern North America. ''Ovis dalli'' contains two subspecies: ''Ovis dalli dalli'' and ''Stone sheep, Ovis dalli stonei''. ''O. dalli'' li ...

, and faces the

Mackenzie Mountains The Mackenzie Mountains are a Canadian mountain range forming part of the Yukon–Northwest Territories boundary between the Liard and Peel rivers. The range is named in honour of Canada's second prime minister, Alexander Mackenzie. Nahanni ...

to the west, which has

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a cloven-footed mammal that is endemic to the remote and rugged mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to truly alpine species, it is a s ...

History

Fort Norman originated as a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

trading post in the 19th century and has occupied a number of geographical locations prior to the settling of the modern community. A post by the name of Fort Norman occupied several locations, on the Mackenzie River, on the islands within it, on Bear River, and on the shore of

near the present location of Deline. Who the name 'Norman' commemorates is unclear, but it may have been either

Alexander Norman McLeod Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

Archibald Norman McLeod Major The Hon. Archibald Norman McLeod (17 March 1772 – after 1837) J.P., was a partner of the North West Company and a political figure in Lower Canada. In 1805, he built Fort Dunvegan. He was a member of the Beaver Club and represented Mo ...

, both of whom were prominent in the northwest in the early 19th century. Between 1863 and 1869, Fort Norman was located on Great Bear Lake, a short distance west of what later became Deline (Fort Franklin), and was an HBC post commanded by Nichol Taylor. Roman Catholic missionary

Émile Petitot Émile-Fortuné Petitot (Inuk name, ''Mitchi Pitchitork Tchikraynarm iyoyé'', meaning "Mr. Petitot, son of the Sun") (December 3, 1838 – May 13, 1916) was a French Missionary Oblate who worked in the Canadian northwest as a cartographer, ethnol ...

operated a small mission here during that period. In 1869, Nichol Taylor moved Fort Norman to its present position at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Bear Rivers. Fort Norman rose to importance during the 1920s

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

staking rush along the Mackenzie River, downstream of the community, where oil was developed and marketed at what became known as

Norman Wells Norman Wells (Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional office, is situated on the north side of the Mackenzie Riv ...

. It has also become a permanent settlement for predominately

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 nam ...

Dene 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 ...

people on whose traditional land the original trading post was built. In 1996, the name of Fort Norman was officially changed to Tulita, which translates in Dene to "where the rivers or waters meet."

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Tulita had a population of 396 living in of its 160 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 477. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In 2016, the majority of the population was

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

being

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

and

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

. The main languages are North Slavey and English with some

Transport and tourism

Tulita may be reached via air year-round, and is served by

Tulita Airport Tulita Airport is located adjacent to Tulita, Northwest Territories, Canada. Its hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. The airport does operate outside of its operational hours when responding to MEDIVAC (air ambul ...

;

is the regional centre and the site of origin of the majority of flights in. A

winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...

links Tulita to Wrigley and thence the

Mackenzie Highway The Mackenzie Highway is a Canadian highway in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It begins as Alberta Highway 2 at ''Mile Zero'' in Grimshaw, Alberta. After the first , it becomes Alberta Highway 35 for the balance of its lengt ...

, and is only open in mid- to late winter. Summer access is available by

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

or by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

, from Hay River along the Mackenzie River. The NWT government is seeking federal funding to extend the Mackenzie Highway from Wrigley through Tulita to

Tsiigehtchic Tsiigehtchic ( ; "mouth of the iron river"), officially the ''Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic'', is a Gwichʼin community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie River, Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territor ...

. Amenities consist of a hotel,

Northern Store The North West Company Inc. is a multinational Canadian grocery and retail company which operates stores in Canada's western provinces and northern territories; the US states of Alaska and Hawaii; and several other countries and US territo ...

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

detachment, and a

nursing station A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

. Chief Albert Wright School teaches grades K-12 while the hamlet has a library, arena, recreation hall, and fitness centre.

First Nations

The

First Nations people of Tulita are represented by the

Tulita Dene First Nation The Tulita Dene First Nation is a Dene First Nations band government in the Northwest Territories. The band's main community is Tulita, along the Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò litera ...

, a

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

operating within the community. The TDFN is a member of the

Sahtu Dene Council The Sahtu Dene Council is a council that represents the Sahtu people of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The council signed a comprehensive land claim agreement in 1993 with the Government of Canada, the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land ...

, joining the Behdzi Ahda' First Nation, Délı̨nę First Nation, and Fort Good Hope First Nation. Treaty Indians from the community are party to the Sahtu Agreement, which gives them shared title to 41,437 square kilometers of land in the

. Under the Sahtu Agreement, self-government negotiations are ongoing in all five of the region's communities, but as of 2019 only

Délı̨nę The Charter Community of Délı̨nę (North Slavey: ) is located in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, on the western shore of Great Bear Lake and is northwest of Yellowknife. Délı̨nę means "where the waters flow", a ref ...

has successfully reached a Final Agreement.

Notable people

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...

lived here while his father was stationed with the

Gallery

Climate

Tulita experiences a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * (1929–1990), German literary scholar * (1855–1922), German author * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...

: Dfc) with generally mild to warm summers and cold winters with highs often well-below zero. Peak snowfall occurs in the months of October and November, while rainfall is limited to the warmer months.

In literature

* The outpost of Fort Norman is featured in

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales ...

's 1989 novel '' Journey'' in which the character of Lord Luton seeks information there in the winter of 1897

References

{{Authority control Communities in the Sahtu Region Dene communities Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Hamlets in the Northwest Territories Populated places on the Mackenzie River Road-inaccessible communities of the Northwest Territories