Jean Marie River (

Slavey language Slavey (; also Slave, Slavé) is a group of Athabaskan languages and a dialect continuum spoken amongst the Dene peoples of Canada in the Northwest Territories – or central Denendeh – where it also has official status.Dehcho Region The Dehcho Region or ''Deh Cho'' is one of five administrative regions in the Northwest Territories of Canada. According to Municipal and Community Affairs the region consists of six communities with the regional office situated in Fort Simpson. A ...

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. The community is located on the

Jean Marie River Jean Marie River (Slavey language: ''Tthek'éhdélį'' or ''Tthek'edeli'' "water flowing over clay") is a "Designated Authority" in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on the Jean Marie River where ...

where it joins the Mackenzie River. The community has a small airport, Jean Marie River Airport, and is accessible by charter aircraft throughout the year and by the all-season JMR Access Road from 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 ...

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 ...

, Jean Marie River 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 2016, the majority of its population was

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 ...

. The main languages in the community are Dene Zhatie ( 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 ...

Services

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 ...

services are provided through

Fort Simpson Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...

. There is neither a hospital nor a health centre but a health station, the "Jean Marie Health Cabin", located in Jean Marie River. There is currently no grocery store, but there are accommodations and a visitors centre. Education is provided through the Louie Norwegian School and provides education up to Grade 10.

First Nations

The

Dene The Dene people () are an Aboriginal peoples in Canada, indigenous group of First Nations in Canada, First Nations who inhabit the northern Boreal forest of Canada, boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languag ...

of the community are represented by the

Jean Marie River First Nation The Jean Marie River First Nation, known as Tthets'ék'ehdélı̨ in its own Dene language, is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the Northwest Territories. The band is headquartered in the community of Jean Marie River. ...

and belong to the

Dehcho First Nations The Dehcho First Nations is a tribal council representing the Dene (South Slavey) and Métis people of the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is made up of ten First Nations bands and two Métis Locals. Membership The Deh C ...

Mackenzie River Flooding

On May 7 2021, the Mackenzie River flooded, damaging 22 of the community's 26 homes and its only school, disabling the only power plant servicing the community, and causing significant diesel spills. Rebuilding had begun by the 9th of June; residents raised objections to the slowness of the authorities' approach, and a lack of guidance in relation to oil spills which had left many homes smelling strongly of diesel.

Gallery

References

External links

Official site
{{Communities of Northwest Territories Communities in the Dehcho Region Dene communities