Hay River Reserve (also known as ''Kʼatlodeeche/Katlʼodeeche First Nation'' or ''Hay River Dene 1'') is one of only two

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

sList of Reserves/Settlements/Villages
/ref> in Canada's

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 ...

. Located in the

South Slave Region The South Slave Region is one of five administrative regions in the Northwest Territories of Canada. According to Municipal and Community Affairs the region consists of seven communities with the regional office situated in Fort Smith and a sub ...

, it is a

Slavey The Slavey (also Awokanak, Slave, and South Slavey) are a First Nations in Canada, 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 homeland ...

community with a population of 259, of which the majority are

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 some

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 ...

, at 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 ...

, a 16.2% decrease from the 2016 census. The main languages on the reserve are South Slavey, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

.Census Profile, 2016 Census Hay River Dene 1, Indian reserve (Census subdivision), Northwest Territories and Northwest Territories (Territory)
/ref> In 2017 the Government of the Northwest Territories reported that the population was 329, resulting in an average annual growth rate of 0.4% between 2007 and 2017. The reserve covers an area of and claims a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

membership of 668 people. The reserve is governed by a Band Council, consisting of a Chief and four Counsellors, who are elected every two years on "Treaty Day". Along with the

Fort Providence 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 (Great Slave Highway) branch off the Macke ...

Dene Band the reserve operates "Evergreen Forestry Management Ltd." The reserve also runs the Ehdah Cho Store, "Tu-Cho Gha Contracting", and the "Nats’jee Keh Treatment Centre". Primary and secondary education in the community is provided by Chief Sunrise Education Centre.

History

Although the

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 ...

had been using the area around the mouth of the Hay River for many years as a fishing site it was not settled until the 1890s when Chief Chiatlo led a group to the site. Later both the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, with a mission school, and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

along with

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

s and the

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 ...

arrived. However, the NWT Government says that the first building in the area was the

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 ...

, followed by the Roman Catholic Mission, and then the Anglican Mission. The original site was located right at the mouth of the river just east of Vale Island at Map of Vale Island
/ref> However, this site was subject to flooding and it was decided to move to a different area. The current site is located on the south shore of the Hay River, near the mouth of

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada (after Great Bear Lake), List of lakes by depth, the deepest lake in North America at , and the List of lakes by area, tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It ...

Traditional Lands
/ref> In 1974 the then

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

, Daniel Sonfrere, negotiated a settlement with the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

and the first reserve in the NWT was formed. The site of the original mission buildings, including St. Peter's Anglican Church, Ste. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, the remains of a rectory, and associated cemeteries, was designated as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 1992, due to its association with the meeting of Dene and European cultures.

Gallery

File:Hay River Mission Site n-1979-004-00151.jpg, Hay River Mission site File:A view of the Hay River settlement from the Mission Boarding School, Northwest Territories, 1922 - Vue de Hay River a partir de la Mission, Territoires du -Nord-Ouest, 1922 (14112957702).jpg, A view of the Hay River settlement from the Mission Boarding School, 1922 File:Children on their way to school in Hay River, Northwest Territories, 1931 - Enfants en route pour l’école à Hay River (Territoires du Nord-Ouest), 1931 (13929401648).jpg, Children on their way to school in Hay River, 1931 File:St. Luke’s English Church Mission School, Hay River, Northwest Territories, 1922 - École missionnaire de l’Église anglicane St. Luke’s, Hay River (Territoires du Nord-Ouest), 1922 (14112742641).jpg, St. Luke's English Church Mission School, Hay River, 1922

Climate

Hay River has 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 ...

( Dfc) with mild to warm summers and long cold winters.

Demographics

In the

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 ...

, Hay River Dene 1 had a population of 259 living in 90 of its 116 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 309. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Arts and culture

Hay River Reserve is the setting for a children's story called ''Smelly Socks''. The book was written by

Robert Munsch Robert Norman Munsch (born June 11, 1945) is an American-born, Canadian children's author. Personal life and career Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1945. He grew up in a family of nine children. Munsch gradua ...

and illustrated by

Michael Martchenko Michael Martchenko (born August 1, 1942) is a Canadian illustrator best known for illustrating many books by Robert Munsch. Early life Born in Carcassonne, France, Martchenko moved to Canada when he was seven, where he graduated from the Ontario ...

. Munsch created the story based on a little girl named Tina whom he met while visiting the reserve in 1984. The illustrations in the book were based on actual pictures of Tina and the community provided by local multimedia artist Frederick Lepine.

References