The Délı̨nę First Nation is a

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

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. The band's main community is

Délı̨nę The Charter Community of Délı̨nę (North Slavey: ) is located in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, on the western shore of Great Bear Lake and is northwest of Yellowknife. Délı̨nę means "where the waters flow", a ref ...

, the only populated place on

Great Bear Lake Great Bear Lake (; ) in the boreal forest of Canada is the largest List of lakes of Canada, lake entirely in Canada (Lake Superior and Lake Huron are larger but straddle the Canada–United States border, Canada–US border), the fourth-larges ...

. All of its powers and responsibilities were assumed by the

Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę Government The Charter Community of Délı̨nę (North Slavey: ) is located in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, on the western shore of Great Bear Lake and is northwest of Yellowknife. Délı̨nę means "where the waters flow", a refe ...

in 2016, but the federal government still recognizes the band for

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' () is a Canadian Act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still in force with amendments, it is the primary document that defines how t ...

enrollment purposes. The Délı̨nę First Nation is a member of 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 ...

. Under the

Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, is a comprehensive lands claim agreement between The Crown in the right of Canada and the Dene and Métis of the Sahtu area in the Northwest Territories. The agreement was signed by ...

, it shares title to 41,437 square kilometers of land 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 I ...

. In addition to this regional agreement, the band also ratified a Délı̨nę Final Self-Government Agreement in 2014. The resulting Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę Government began operating on September 1, 2016, assuming all previous responsibilities of the Délı̨nę First Nation, Délı̨nę Land Corporation, and the Charter Community of Délı̨nę. This merger of a First Nation and a municipality is unique in the Northwest Territories. With

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

, the band jointly governs

Saoyú-ʔehdacho Saoyú-ʔehdacho (also known as Sahoyue-Edacho, Sahoyúé-§ehdacho, Saoyú and Æehdacho and Grizzly Bear Mountain and Scented Grass Hills) is a cultural landscape in the Northwest Territories, Canada, comprising two peninsulas in Great Bear L ...

, Canada's largest National Historic Site.

References

External links

Délı̨nę Got’ine Government
First Nations in the Northwest Territories Dene governments {{NorthwestTerritories-stub