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.) is a "Designated Authority" in the
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 ...
of 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 ...
, Canada. The community is located on the
Jean Marie River
Jean Marie River (Slavey language: ''Tthets’ek’ehdeli'' "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 it joins the M ...
where it joins the
Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...
. 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 ...
.
History
The Tthek’éhdél Dene of what is today Jean Marie River First Nation were primarily nomadic people who hunted
moose
The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
and
caribou
The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...
, trapped for beaver and fished the rivers and lakes of the
Great Slave Plain
Great may refer to:
Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
* Artel Great (bo ...
.
In the early 1920s, the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to sedentism began under the orders of the Elder Norwegian (a chief of the area). This led to the formation of various permanent posts in the overall area.
By the 1950s, the settlement of Jean Marie River had begun to develop a non-traditional economy based around river transportation and logging, which had a
collectivist
In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, struct ...
style of living, however in the recent decades the area had various initiative to fully move towards a more intricate economic system, distancing itself from its traditional one.
Starting from the 2010s, the area started to suffer the consequences of climate change and the local way of life, including food security.
Demographics
In the
2021 Canadian census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Jean Marie River had a population of 63 living in 33 of its 37 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 77. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
In 2021, the entirety of its population was
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 ...
. The only languages in the community were
Indigenous languages
An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by its indigenous peoples. Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be; for example, Aymara is both an indigeno ...
and English. The main Indigenous languages in the community are a group of
Athabaskan languages
Athabaskan ( ; also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large branch of the Na-Dene languages, Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language ...
called ''Dene Yatıé'' or ''Zhatıé'' / ''K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́'' ( South Slavey / Hare).
Services
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
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 no hospital but there is a health station, the "Jean Marie Health Cabin", located in the community. There is currently no grocery store, but there are accommodations and a visitors centre. There is GNWT Petroleum Products Division fuel station that offers both diesel and gasoline, and accepts both debit or cash, operated by a local contractor. Education from kindergarten to grade 9 is provided through the Louie Norwegian School and they are part of the
Dehcho Divisional Education Council
The Dehcho Divisional Education Council is the public school board for the Dehcho Region, in the Northwest Territories. Located in Fort Simpson
Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come tog ...
.
First Nations
The
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 ...
of the community are represented by the Jean Marie River First Nation (Tthets'éhk'edélî First Nation) and are a member of 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 Ch ...
.
Mackenzie River Flooding
On 7 May 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 9 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.