Whatì (; from the Dogrib language meaning "Marten Lakes"), officially the ''Tłı̨chǫ Community Government of Whatì'' is a

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 ...

community in the

North Slave Region The North Slave Region or ''Tłicho Region'' is one of five administrative regions in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the most populous of the five regions, with a population of almost 23,000. According to Municipal and Community Affai ...

of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Whatì is located by Lac La Martre, about northwest of the territorial capital of

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 ...

History

With rich and varied wildlife, the area has long been a favoured hunting ground of the

Tłı̨chǫ The Tłı̨chǫ (, ) people, sometimes spelled Tlicho and also known as the Dogrib, are a Dene First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Name The name ''Dogrib'' ...

(Dogrib

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 ...

)

Indigenous people 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 ...

. The North West Company established a

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 ...

there in 1793, and many natives began settling there permanently, while they continued to hunt and fish in the area. With the establishment of a trading post at Fort Rae on

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 ...

in the late 19th century, most regional trading was accomplished at 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 ...

and free traders posts there. A trading post at Lac La Martre was not again established until the 1920s. On January 1, 1996, the community officially changed its name from Lac La Martre to the Tłı̨chǫ name "Wha Ti", meaning "Marten Lake," the same meaning as the French and then on August 4, 2005 to the current spelling. Other traditional Tłı̨chǫ names for the settlement include Tsoti ('fouled water lake') and Mine Go Kola ('net fishing with houses'). Before 2005, the community was unincorporated, and local governance was provided by a First Nations band government, Wha Ti First Nation. Under the terms of the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement, most responsibilities of Wha Ti have been transferred to a new Whatì Community Government. However, the First Nation is still recognized by the federal government for Indian Act enrollment.

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, Whatì 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. The majority of the population is Indigenous of which 445 were

and 10 were Métis. The main languages were Dogrib and English with a few North Slavey speakers.

Economy

While trapping, hunting, and fishing continue to be the main economic activities in this traditional community, efforts have been made to develop tourism as well. A fishing lodge was opened, and many tourists come to see the abundant wildlife, including black bears,

barren-ground caribou The barren-ground caribou (''Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: Taxomony.) is a subspecies of the reindeer (or the caribou in North America) that is found in the Canadian territories of Nu ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

, and

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s. The community takes special pride in the fact that no alcohol is allowed there. Whatì is part of the Tlicho Government.

Infrastructure

Transport

Previously, Whatì was accessible from the rest of Canada by the Whatì Airport and a winter road. Construction of the Tlicho All-Season Road, connecting the community to the

Yellowknife Highway The Yellowknife Highway, officially Northwest Territories Highway 3 and also known as the Great Slave Highway, is a highway connecting Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to the Mackenzie Highway, from a junction north of the Alberta border. F ...

, began in 2019, and the road was opened in November 2021.

Communications

Telephone service was introduced to Whati in 1982.

Climate

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

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whati, Northwest Territories Communities in the North Slave Region Tłı̨chǫ community governments in the Northwest Territories North West Company Dene communities Road-inaccessible communities of the Northwest Territories