The Chipewyan ( , also called the Dënesųłı̨né ), are a Dene group of Indigenous Canadian people belonging to 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.

Terminology

thumb|left|Denesuline children by canoe in [[La Loche]]

The name Dënesųłı̨né, also written Denésoliné or Dënë Sųłınë́, means "the original/real people". The term Chipewyan () is an exonym from the Cree language meaning 'pointed hides', referring to the design of their parkas.

The French-speaking missionaries to the northwest of the Red River Colony referred to the Chipewyan people as Montagnais in their documents written in French. Montagnais simply means 'mountain people' or 'highlanders' in French and has been applied to many unrelated nations across North America over time. For example, the missionaries also referred to the Neenolino Innu of northern Quebec as .

Ethnography

Historically, the Denesuline were allied to some degree with the southerly Cree peoples. They warred against Inuit and other Dene peoples to the north of Chipewyan lands.

An important historic Denesuline is Thanadelthur ("Marten Jumping"), a young woman who early in the 18th century helped her people to establish peace with the Cree, and to get involved in the fur trade.

The Sayisi Dene of northern Manitoba are a Chipewyan band notable for hunting migratory caribou. They were historically located at Little Duck Lake and known as the "Duck Lake Dene".

In 1956, the government forcibly relocated them to the port of Churchill on the shore of Hudson Bay and a small village north of Churchill called North Knife River. There they joined other Dene and became members of the "Fort Churchill Chipewyan Band".

In the 1970s, the "Duck Lake Dene" opted for self-reliance, and a return to caribou hunting. They relocated to Tadoule Lake, legally becoming recognized as "Sayisi Dene First Nation (Tadoule Lake, Manitoba)" in the 1990s.

Culture

The Chipewyan used to be largely nomadic, organized into small bands and temporarily lived in tepees. They wore one-piece pants and moccasin outfits. However, their nomadic lifestyle began to erode in 1717 when they encountered English settlers. The Chipewyan subsequently became important in the subarctic trade by exchanging furs and hides for metal tools, guns and cloth.

Modern Chipewyan are either fluidly sedentary or semi-nomadic in lifestyle. Many still practice their traditional lifestyle for subsistence including fishing or caribou hunting although this process is modernized with the use of modern nets, tools, transportation and more.

Most Chipewyan people now use Dene and Denesuline to describe themselves and their language. The Saskatchewan communities of Fond-du-Lac, Black Lake and Wollaston Lake are a few.

Despite the superficial similarity of the names, the Chipewyan are not related to the Chippewa (Ojibwe) people.

In 2015, Shénë Gahdële-Valpy (Shene Catholique-Valpy at the time), a Chipewyan woman in the Northwest Territories, challenged the territorial government over its refusal to permit her to use the letter in her daughter's name, Sahą́ı̨́ʔą (Sahaiʔa without diacritics). The territory argued that territorial and federal identity documents were unable to accommodate the letter. Sahaiʔa's mother finally registered her name with a hyphen in place of the , while continuing to challenge the policy. Shortly afterwards, another woman named Andrea Heron also challenged the territory on the same grounds, for refusing to accept the letter in her daughter's Slavey name, Sakaeʔah (actually a cognate of Sahaiʔa). Náʔël, the sister of Sahą́ı̨́ʔą, faces the same issues.

Demographics

Chipewyan peoples live in the region spanning the western Canadian Shield to the Northwest Territories, including northern parts of the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. There are also many burial and archaeological sites in Nunavut which are part of the Dënesųłı̨ne group.

The following list of First Nations band governments had in August 2016 a total registered membership of 25,519, with 11,315 in Saskatchewan, 6,952 in Alberta, 3,038 in Manitoba and 4,214 in the Northwest Territories. All had Denesuline populations; however, several had a combination of Cree and Denesuline members (see the Barren Lands First Nation in Manitoba and the Fort McMurray First Nation in Alberta).

There are also many Dene (Dënesųlı̨ne)-speaking Métis communities located throughout the region. The Saskatchewan village of La Loche, for example, had 2,300 residents who in the 2011 census identified as speaking Dene (Denesuline) as their native language. About 1,800 of the residents were Métis and about 600 were members of the Clearwater River Dene Nation.

Commemorations

The relocation of the Sayisi Dene is commemorated by the Dene Memorial in Churchill, Manitoba.

Historical Chipewyan regional groups

The Chipewyan moved in small groups or bands, consisting of several extended families, alternating between winter and summer camps. The groups participated in hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering in Canada's boreal forest and around the many lakes of their territory. Later, with the emerging North American fur trade, they organized into several major regional groups in the vicinity of the European trading posts to control, as middleman, the carrying trade in furs and the hunting of fur-bearing animals. The new social groupings also enabled the Chipewyan to dominate their Dene neighbours and to better defend themselves against their rifle-armed Cree enemies, who were advancing to the Peace River and Lake Athabasca.

  • Kaí-theli-ke-hot!ínne (K'aı́tëlı́ hót'ı̨ne) ('willow flat-country up they-dwell') lived on the western shore of Lake Athabasca at Fort Chipewyan. Their tribal area extended northward to Fort Smith on the Slave River and south to Fort McMurray on the Athabasca River
  • Kés-ye-hot!ínne (K'ësyëhót'ı̨ne) ('aspen house they-dwell' or 'poplar house they-dwell') lived on the upper reaches of the Churchill River, along the Lac Île-à-la-Crosse, Methye Portage, Cold Lake, Heart Lake and Onion Lake. The tribal name is probably a description of adjacent Chipewyan groups for this major regional group and takes literally reference to the Lac Ile à la Crosse established European trading forts which were built with Poplar or Aspen wood.
  • Hoteladi Hótthę̈nádé dëne ('northern people') lived north of the Kés-ye-hot!ínne between Cree Lake, west of Reindeer Lake on the south and on the east shore of Lake Athabasca in the north.
  • Hâthél-hot!inne (Hátthëlót'ı̨ne) ('lowland they-dwell') lived in the Reindeer Lake (ɂëtthën tué) region which drains south into the Churchill River.
  • Etthen eldili dene (Etthén heldélį Dené, Ethen-eldeli - 'Caribou-Eaters') lived in the taiga east of Lake Athabasca far east to Hudson Bay, at Reindeer Lake, Hatchet Lake, Wollaston Lake and Lac Brochet
  • Kkrest'ayle kke ottine ('dwellers among the quaking aspens' or 'trembling aspen people') lived in the boreal forests between Great Slave Lake in the south and Great Bear Lake in the north.
  • Sayisi Dene (Saı́yısı́ dëne) (or Saw-eessaw-dinneh - 'people of the east') traded at Fort Chipewyan. Their hunting and tribal areas extended between Lake Athabasca and Great Slave Lake, and along the Churchill River.
  • Gáne-kúnan-hot!ínne (Gąnı̨ kuę hót'ı̨ne) ('jack-pine home they-dwell') lived in the taiga east of Lake Athabasca and were particularly centred along the eastern Fond-du-Lac area.
  • Des-nèdhè-kkè-nadè (Dësnëdhé k'e náradé dëne) (Desnedekenade, Desnedhé hoį́é nadé hot'įnę́ - 'people along the great river') were also known as Athabasca Chipewyan. They lived between Great Slave Lake and Lake Athabasca along the Slave River near Fort Resolution (Denı́nu Kų́ę́
  • Tandzán-hot!ínne (Tálzą́hót'ı̨ne) ('dwellers at the dirty lake', also known as Dení-nu-eke-tówe - 'moose island up lake-on') lived on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake and along the Yellowknife River, and before their expulsion by the Tłı̨chǫ along the Coppermine River. They were often regarded as a Chipewyan group, but form as "Yellowknives" historically an independent First Nation and called themselves T'atsaot'ine (T'átsąnót'ı̨ne).

Governance

The Dënesųłı̨ne people are part of many band governments spanning Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.

Alberta

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Denesuline peoples in Alberta

|-

! Tribal council

! First Nations

! Headquarters

! Reserves

! Area

! Population

! Notes and references

|-

| Athabasca Tribal Council || <br>(K'ai Taile Dené) || Fort Chipewyan<br>(K'aı́tël koę) || Chipewyan 201<br>Chipewyan 201A<br>Chipewyan 201B<br>Chipewyan 201C<br>Chipewyan 201D<br>Chipewyan 201E<br>Chipewyan 201F<br>Chipewyan 201G || align=right| || align=right| 1,533 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Athabasca Tribal Council || Fort McKay First Nation || Fort McKay || Fort McKay 174<br>Fort McKay 174C<br>Fort McKay 174D<br>Namur Lake 174B<br>Namur River 174A || align=right| || align=right| 1,042 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Athabasca Tribal Council || Chipewyan Prairie First Nation<br>(Tł'ógh tëlı́ dënesųłı̨ne) || Chard || Cowper Lake 194A<br>Janvier 194<br>Winefred Lake 194B || align=right| || align=right| 1,018 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Athabasca Tribal Council || Fort McMurray First Nation<br>(Tthı̨dłı̨ kuę́) || Fort McMurray || Clearwater 175<br>Gregoire Lake 176<br>Gregoire Lake 176A<br>Gregoire Lake 176B || align=right| || align=right| 1,153 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Athabasca Tribal Council || Mikisew Cree First Nation<br>(ᒥᑭᓯᐤ) || Fort Chipewyan<br>(K'aı́tël koę) || Allison Bay 219<br>Charles Lake 225<br>Collin Lake 223<br>Cornwall Lake 224<br>Devil's Gate 220<br>Dog Head 218<br>Old Fort 217<br>Peace Point 222<br>Sandy Point 221 || align=right| || align=right| 3,281 ||Despite the name, the population of this band is mixed with a "little over fifty percent" having Chipewyan ancestry in 2020 according to a former chief, whose own mother was Dene. Name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| || Cold Lake First Nations<br>(Łué chógh tué) || Cold Lake || Cold Lake 149<br>Cold Lake 149A<br>Cold Lake 149B<br>Cold Lake 149C<br>Blue Quills || align=right| || align=right| 3,347 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Akaitcho Territory Government<br>(Ɂákéchógh nęnę) || Smith's Landing First Nation<br>(Tthëbátthı́ dënesųłı̨ne) || Fort Smith<br>(Tthebacha) Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|}

Manitoba

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Denesuline peoples in Manitoba

|-

! Tribal council

! First Nations

! Headquarters

! Reserves

! Area

! Population

! Notes and references

|-

| || Barren Lands First Nation<br>(Brochet Kuę́) || Brochet || Brochet 197<br> || align=right| || align=right| 1,286 ||They have a Cree and Dene population. Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Keewatin Tribal Council || <br>(ᓂ ᗂᘚ ᑌᓀ, Nįh hots’į Dene) || Lac Brochet<br> || Kasmere Lake B<br>Kesinltintúwe<br>Lac Brochet 197A<br>Luawaychotuwé<br>Luwechotuwe Parcel B<br>Luwechotuwe Parcel C<br>Netelituwe Site C<br>Nitelitúwe Site E<br>Nįtxeli Tuwé 1<br>Nįtxeli Tuwé 2<br>Nįtxeli Tuwé 4<br>Putahow Lake Site A<br>Putahow Lake Site B<br>Putahow Lake Site C<br>Putahow Lake Site D<br>Putahow Lake Site F<br>Sheth Chok<br>Tajabanilin<br>Tatuwe Chok Indian Reserve<br>Thai Da Re<br>Thaí Tuwé 2 Indian Reserve<br>Thaíchonįlįni Indian Reserve<br>Thaídaré Indian Reserve<br>Thi Dare Indian Reserve<br>Thlewiaza River<br>Thuycholeeni<br>Thuycholeeni Azé<br>Thuycholeeni Lake A<br>Thuycholeeni Lake B<br>Thuycholeeni Lake C<br>Tlock Desi Chiye<br>Tthekalé Nu<br>Tu Txanįlįni Indian Reserve<br>Tł’odįzeché Indian Reserve<br>Yathie Nitaniah<br>Łuécho Tuwé 1 Indian Reserve || align=right| || align=right| 1,216 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Keewatin Tribal Council || Sayisi Dene First Nation || Tadoule Lake || Churchill 1 || align=right| || align=right| 920 ||Formerly known as Fort Churchill Indian Band. Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|}

Northwest Territories

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Denesuline peoples in the Northwest Territories

|-

! Tribal council

! First Nations

! Headquarters

! Reserves / community

! Area

! Population

! Notes and references

|-

| <br>(Ɂákéchógh nęnę) || Deninu Kųę́ First Nation<br>(Deneh-noo-kweh) || Fort Resolution<br>(Denı́nu Kų́ę́) reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Akaitcho Territory Government<br>(Ɂákéchógh nęnę) || Łutsël K'é Dene First Nation || Łutselk'e<br>(Łútsę̀lk'é) reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Akaitcho Territory Government<br>(Ɂákéchógh nęnę) || Salt River First Nation#195 || Fort Smith<br>(Tthebacha) reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| Akaitcho Territory Government<br>(Ɂákéchógh nęnę) || || Yellowknife<br>(Sǫ̀mbak'è) reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|}

Saskatchewan

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Denesuline peoples in Saskatchewan

|-

! Tribal council

! First Nations

! Headquarters

! Reserves

! Area

! Population

! Notes and references

|-

| MLTC Program Services Inc. || Buffalo River Dene Nation<br>(Ɂëjëre dësché) || Dillon || || align=right| || align=right| 1,775 ||The reserve is about northwest of Île-à-la-Crosse (Kuę́ ). Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| MLTC Program Services Inc. || Clearwater River Dene Nation<br>(Tı̨tëlase tué) || Clearwater River || Clearwater River Dene Band 221<br>Clearwater River Dene Band 222<br>Clearwater River Dene Band 223<br>La Loche Indian Settlement || align=right| || align=right| 3,246 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| MLTC Program Services Inc. || English River First Nation || Patuanak || Cree Lake 192G<br>Dipper Rapids 192C<br>Elak Dase 192A<br>Barkwell Bay 192I<br>Beauval Forks 192O<br>Cable Bay 192M<br>Cable Bay 192N<br>Flatstone Lake 192L<br>Haultain Lake 192K<br>Leaf Rapids 192P<br>Mawdsley Lake 192R<br>Slush Lake 192Q<br>English River 192H<br>Grasswoods 192J<br>Île-à-la-Crosse 192E<br>Knee Lake 192B<br>La Plonge 192<br>Primeau Lake 192F<br>Wapachewunak 192D || align=right| || align=right| 1,897 ||The name originates from the English River where the "poplar house people" (Kés-ye-hot'ı̨në) inhabited the area for periods during the year. Most families, who now reside in Patuanak (Bëghą́nı̨ch'ërë) and La Plonge 192 by Beauval had traditionally lived down river. Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| MLTC Program Services Inc. || Birch Narrows Dene Nation<br>(K'ı́t'ádhı̨ká ) || Turnor Lake || Turnor Lake 194<br>Churchill Lake 193A<br>Turnor Lake 193B || align=right| || align=right| 997 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| || Black Lake Denesuline First Nation<br>(Tázën tué) || Black Lake || Chicken 224<br>Chicken 225<br>Chicken 226 || align=right| || align=right| 2,352 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| PADC Management Company || <br>(Tthëłtué) || Wollaston Lake || Lac la Hache 220 || align=right| || align=right| 2,054 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|-

| PADC Management Company || Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation || Fond du Lac || Fond du Lac 227<br>Fond du Lac 228<br>Fond du Lac 229<br>Fond du Lac 231<br>Fond du Lac 232<br>Fond du Lac 233 || align=right| || align=right| 2,287 ||Tribal council, name and , reserves and area, population (February 2025)

|}

Notable Chipewyan

  • Matonabbee (Matąnebı́)
  • Matooskie
  • Thanadelthur (Thánadëltth'ér)
  • Louis Riel, who was a grandson of a Chipewyan
  • Jimmy Herman, actor from Cold Lake First Nation
  • Alex Janvier, artist from Cold Lake First Nation

References

Further reading

  • Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Footprints on the Land: Tracing the Path of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Fort Chipewyan, Alta: Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, 2003.
  • Birket-Smith, Kaj. Contributions to Chipewyan Ethnology. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1930.
  • Bone, Robert M., Earl N. Shannon, and Stewart Raby. The Chipewyan of the Stony Rapids Region; A Study of Their Changing World with Special Attention Focused Upon Caribou. Mawdsley memoir, 1. Saskatoon: Institute for Northern Studies, University of Saskatchewan, 1973.
  • Bussidor, Ila, Usten Bilgen-Reinart. "Night Spirits: The Story of the Relocation of the Sayisi Dene." University of Manitoba Press, 16 March 2000. (Memoir of a Dene Woman's experiences in Churchill, Manitoba.)
  • Clayton-Gouthro, Cecile M. Patterns in Transition: Moccasin Production and Ornamentation of the Janvier Band Chipewyan. Mercury series. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1994.
  • Cook, Eung-Do. 2006. The Patterns of Consonantal Acquisition and Change in Chipewyan (Dene Suline). International Journal of American Linguistics. 72, no. 2: 236.
  • Dramer, Kim, and Frank W. Porter. The Chipewyan. New York: Chelsea House, 1996.
  • Elford, Leon W., and Marjorie Elford. English-Chipewyan Dictionary. Prince Albert, Sask: Northern Canada Evangelical Mission, 1981.
  • Goddard, Pliny Earle. Texts and Analysis of Cold Lake Dialect, Chipewyan. Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History, v. 10, pt. 1–2. New York: Published by order of the Trustees [of the American Museum of Natural History], 1912.
  • Grant, J. C. Boileau. Anthropometry of the Chipewyan and Cree Indians of the Neighbourhood of Lake Athabaska. Ottawa: F.A. Acland, printer, 1930.
  • Human Relations Area Files, inc. Chipewyan ND07. EHRAF collection of ethnography. New Haven, Conn: Human Relations Area Files, 2001.
  • Irimoto, Takashi. Chipewyan Ecology: Group Structure and Caribou Hunting System. Senri ethnological studies, no. 8. Suita, Osaka, Japan: National Museum of Ethnology, 1981.
  • Li, Fang-kuei, and Ronald Scollon. Chipewyan Texts. Nankang, Taipei: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, 1976.
  • Lowie, Robert Harry. Chipewyan Tales. New York: The Trustees, 1912.
  • Paul, Simon. Introductory Chipewyan: Basic Vocabulary. Saskatoon: Indian and Northern Education, University of Saskatchewan, 1972.
  • Scollon, Ronald, and Suzanne B. K. Scollon. Linguistic Convergence: An Ethnography of Speaking at Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
  • Shapiro, Harry L. The Alaskan Eskimo; A Study of the Relationship between the Eskimo and the Chipewyan Indians of Central Canada. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1931.
  • Sharp, Henry S. Chipewyan Marriage. Mercury series. Ottawa: National Museum of Canada, 1979.
  • Sharp, Henry S. The Transformation of Bigfoot: Maleness, Power, and Belief Among the Chipewyan. Smithsonian series in ethnographic inquiry. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988.
  • VanStone, James W. The Changing Culture of the Snowdrift Chipewyan. Ottawa: [Queen's Printer], 1965.
  • Wilhelm, Andrea. Telicity and Durativity: A Study of Aspect in Dëne Sųłiné (Chipewyan) and German. New York: Routledge, 2007.
  • Athabasca Chipewyan Nation