Wikipedia

Dene

The Dene people (/ˈdɛneɪ/) 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".[1] The term "Dene" has two uses:

Gahwié got’iné, a Sahtú (North Slavey) people of Canada

PeopleDene
CountryDenendeh
For the Diné people native to the Southwestern US, see Navajo. For other uses, see Dene (disambiguation).
  • "Dene" is sometimes also used to refer to all Northern Athabaskan speakers, who are spread in a wide range all across Alaska and northern Canada.[b]

Location

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Dene are spread through a wide region. They live in the Mackenzie Valley (south of the Inuvialuit), and can be found west of Nunavut. Their homeland reaches to western Yukon, and the northern part of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alaska and the southwestern United States.[3] Dene were the first people to settle in what is now the Northwest Territories. In northern Canada, historically there were ethnic feuds between the Dene and the Inuit. In 1996, Dene and Inuit representatives participated in a healing ceremony at Bloody Falls to reconcile the centuries-old grievances.[4][5]

Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories is the largest Dene community in Canada.

Ethnography

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The Dene include six main groups:[2]

Although the above-named groups are what the term "Dene" usually refers to in modern usage, other groups who consider themselves Dene include:

In 2005, elders from the Dene People decided to join the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) seeking recognition for their ancestral cultural and land rights.

The largest population of Chipewyan language (Dënesųłinë́ or Dëne) 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 Dënesųłinë́ language is spoken by 89% of the residents.[7]

Notable Dene

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See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ The listed Athabaskan tribes are the Eastern group in Jeff Leer's classification;[citation needed] but in Keren Rice's classification they part of the Northwestern Canada group.[citation needed]
  2. ^ Southern Athabaskan speakers also refer to themselves by similar words: Diné (Navajo) and Indé (Apache).[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Sapir (1915), p. 558
  2. ^ a b "About Us". Dene Nation. Retrieved 11 July 2024. Geographical conditions in Denendeh have created the groups of people who make up the Dene Nation ─ Denesoline (Chipewyan), Tlicho (Dogrib), Deh Gah Got'ine (Slavey) K'ashot'ine (Hareskin) and Dinjii Zhuh (Gwich'in, once called Loucheux).
  3. ^ "First Nations culture areas index". The Canadian Museum of Civilization.
  4. ^ "CBC's David McLauchlin dies at 56". CBC News. 26 May 2003.
  5. ^ "Kugluk (Bloody Falls) Territorial Park". Hamlet of Kugluktuk. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Dene History". Tsuu T'ina Nation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  7. ^ "History of La Loche". PortageLaLoche. La Loche 2011 census. 15 November 2012.

Sources

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  • Sapir, Edward (1915), "The Na-Dene languages: A preliminary report", American Anthropologist, 17 (3): 534–558, doi:10.1525/aa.1915.17.3.02a00080, JSTOR 660504534-558&rft.date=1915&rft_id=info:doi/10.1525/aa.1915.17.3.02a00080&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/660504#id-name=JSTOR&rft.aulast=Sapir&rft.aufirst=Edward&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dene" class="Z3988">.

Further reading

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  • Abel, Kerry M. (1993). Drum Songs: Glimpses of Dene history. McGill-Queen's studies in ethnic history. Vol. 15. Montreal, Quebec: Buffalo. ISBN 0-7735-0992-5.
  • Bielawski, E. (2004). Rogue Diamonds: Northern riches on Dene land. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-98419-8.
  • Holland, Lynda; Janvier, Celina; Hewitt, Larry (2002). The Dene Elders Project: Stories and history from the west side. La Ronge, Saskatchewan: Holland-Dalby Educational Consulting. ISBN 0-921848-23-4.
  • Marie, Suzan; Thompson, Judy (2002). Dene Spruce Root Basketry: Revival of a tradition. Mercury series. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization. ISBN 0-660-18830-9.
  • Marie, Suzan; Thompson, Judy (2004). Whadoo Tehmi Long-Ago People's Packsack: Dene babiche bags: Tradition and revival. Mercury series. Gatineau, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization. ISBN 0-660-19248-9.
  • Moore, Patrick; Wheelock, Angela (1990). Wolverine Myths and Visions: Dene traditions from northern Alberta. Studies in the anthropology of North American Indians. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-8161-7.
  • Ryan, Joan (1995). Doing Things the Right Way: Dene traditional justice in Lac La Martre, N.W.T. Calgary, Alberta: University of Calgary Press. ISBN 1-895176-62-X.
  • Sharp, Henry S. (2001). Loon: Memory, meaning, and reality in a Northern Dene community. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-4292-1.
  • Watkins, Mel (1977). Dene Nation – the Colony Within. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2264-2.
  • Wake, Val (2008). White Bird Black Bird. Charleston, South Carolina: Booksurge. ISBN 1-4392-0345-8.
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