Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K'asho Got'ine''), is a charter community 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 Indi ...

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. ...

, Canada. It is located on a peninsula between Jackfish Creek and the east bank of the Mackenzie River, about northwest of

Norman Wells Norman Wells (Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada, settled about 140 km (87 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional o ...

. The two principal languages are North Slavey and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Hunting and trapping are two major sources of income. The Church of Our Lady of Good Hope, a National Historic Site, is located in the community. The church, completed in 1885, was once home to Father

Émile Petitot Émile-Fortuné Petitot (also known as Émile-Fortuné-Stanislas-Joseph Petitot) (Inuk name, ''Mitchi Pitchitork Tchikraynarm iyoyé'', meaning "Mr. Petitot, son of the Sun") (December 3, 1838 – May 13, 1916), a French Missionary Oblate, was a n ...

History

The settlement was established as a

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

fur trading outpost in 1804 (or 1805). It was known mainly as Fort Good Hope, but also as Fort Hope and Fort Charles (not the same as the HBC fort from 1686) The outpost was relocated several times from the current site; between 1804 to before 1823 somewhere between Arctic Red River and Peel River (by NWC and HBC) near

Tsiigehtchic Tsiigehtchic ( ; "mouth of the iron river"), officially the ''Charter Community of Tsiigehtchic'', is a Gwich'in community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, ...

, 1823 on the west banks of the Mackenzie near what was called Thunder River near where the rivers runs east-west direction north of current site (labelled in A.K. Isbester 1845 map as Old Fort Good Hope), remained there until 1826 relocated on Manitou Island. Flooding forced HBC to relocate their outpost twice on the east banks in 1836. The fur outpost ended in 1918 and became a HBC retail operation that is now known as Northern Stores.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), 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 cultur ...

, Fort Good Hope had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In 2006 the

Indigenous population Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

was 465, of which 435 were

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

, 20

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

and 10

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 Territories ...

Transportation

02 - Fort Good Hope looking across the Mackenzie River

The only all season access is by air,

Fort Good Hope Airport Fort Good Hope Airport is located southwest of Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories, Canada. Facilities A small terminal building with waiting area is the largest structure. There are no storage hangers at the airport. Airport runway is gr ...

, with flights operated by

North-Wright Airways North-Wright Airways is an airline based in Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada. It operates commuter services to several communities in the Northwest Territories, and charter services. Its main base is Norman Wells Airport and they ope ...

from Inuvik, Norman Wells and Colville Lake. All flights are non-scheduled passenger service. The old airport runway is now Old Airport Road. The community can be accessed in summer using the Mackenzie River. There is no passenger service and the route is primarily used by the

Northern Transportation Company Marine Transportation Services (MTS) formerly Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) is a marine transportation company operating primarily in the Mackenzie River watershed of the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta, and the Arc ...

for the summer

sealift Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies. It complements other means of transport, such a ...

. Winter access is possible via 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.Proskin et al, 2011. Guidelines for the Construction an ...

from Wrigley located further south. The NWT government is seeking federal funding to help extend 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 ...

from Wrigley to

, where it would connect with the

Dempster Highway The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a highway in Canada that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. The highway crosses ...

, as of winter 2014 at least eight major river crossings are in place for the new road, some of which are in use as winter crossings.

First Nations

Fort Good Hope is represented by the K’asho Go’tine Community Council and belong to 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 C ...

.Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Through the council they are in negotiations with the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

for a

land claims A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

settlement.

Education

Fort Good Hope currently has three institutes providing some form of education. For

pre-school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary scho ...

, there is the Fort Good Hope Daycare. Elementary, junior high and senior high school students attend Chief T'Selehye School. The K-12 school is one of five schools under the Sahtú Divisional Education Council. The current school was rebuilt in 2011 replace the early 1971 building (renovations 1987 and 1994). It also hosts the community library. For post secondary education

Aurora College Aurora College, formerly Arctic College, is a college located in the Northwest Territories, Canada with campuses in Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife. They have learning centres in 23 communities in the NWT. The head office for Aurora Colleg ...

Learning Centre located in the town allows students to qualify for admission to Aurora College and meet other college and university admission requirements. The closest campus is Inuvik.

Communication infrastructure

*Full postal service - located in the

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

*Satellite television *Two radio stations ** VF2070 101.9 FM - re-transmitter for CKLB-FM 101.9 FM ** CBQE-FM 105.1 CBC Radio North One Inuvik and re-transmitter for

CHAK (AM) CHAK is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 860 AM in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The station broadcasts the programming of the CBC Radio One network known as CBC North. History CHAK was launched in 1947 as a local community station in ...

*4G cellular service as of August 20, 2013

Services

There is no hospital in Fort Good Hope and has basic care from the local community counselling centre. Urgent care can be assessed at Sahtú Got'iné Regional Health and Social Services Centre in

and critical care requiring hospitalization to Stanton Territorial Hospital in

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

(via air ambulance).

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

Fort Good Hope detachment provides general policing in community and under north district of "G" Division, West Region. Fire services are provided from one fire station near RCMP detachment. The service has two pumpers.

Climate

Fort Good Hope experiences a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a 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 an ocean, ge ...

( Dfc), with long, cold winters and short, warm summers. The highest temperature ever recorded was on 20 June 1911, 11 July 1920 and 5 July 1998. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 31 January 1917 and 4 February 1947.

References

External links

{{Authority control Charter communities in the Northwest Territories Communities in the Sahtu Region Dene communities Hudson's Bay Company forts Road-inaccessible communities of the Northwest Territories