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

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified 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." In ...

sList of Reserves/Settlements/Villages
/ref> in Canada's Northwest Territories. 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 su ...

, it is a

Slavey The Slavey (also Slave and South Slavey) are a First Nations indigenous peoples of the Dene group, indigenous to the Great Slave Lake region, in Canada's Northwest Territories, and extending into northeastern British Columbia and northwestern ...

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

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 ...

and some Métis, at the 2021 Canadian census, 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: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

.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, I ...

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 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

Hay River Mission Northwest Territories Canada

Although the

Dene The Dene people () are an indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages. ''Dene'' is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" ha ...

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, with a mission school, and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

along with

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

s and the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police 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 police, federal and national police service of ...

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; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, 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 (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...

Traditional Lands
/ref> In 1974 the then chief, Daniel Sonfrere, negotiated a settlement 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 ...

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 (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du 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 ...

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 File:Chief Sunrise Education Centre.jpg, Chief Sunrise Education Centre, 2004

Climate

Hay River has a subarctic climate ( Dfc) with mild to warm summers and long cold winters.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the 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%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Hay River Dene 1 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.

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-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 9 children. He graduated from Fordha ...

and illustrated by

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

. 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