The Tłı̨chǫ (, ) people, sometimes spelled Tlicho and also known as the Dogrib, are 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 ...

people of the Athabaskan-speaking

ethnolinguistic group An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major bas ...

living 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 ...

of Canada.

Name

The name ''Dogrib'' is an English adaptation of their own name, (or ) – “Dog-Flank People”, referring to their fabled descent from a supernatural dog-man. Like their

neighbours they called themselves often simply ("person", "human") or ("People, i.e. Dene People"). The Tłı̨chǫ's land is known as (or , or ). On the 1682 Franquelin map, Dogrib was recorded as "Alimousp oiak" (from

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

, "Dog-Flanks").

Communities

The Tłı̨chǫ have six communities with a majority of Tłı̨chǫ residents:

Behchokǫ̀ Behchokǫ̀ ( ɛ́ht͡ʃʰókʰõ̀or ɛ́ht͡sʰókʰõ̀ ) (from the Tłı̨chǫ meaning "Behcho's place"), officially the ''Tłı̨chǫ Community Government of Behchokǫ̀,'' is a community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territ ...

(formerly Rae-Edzo), Whatì (Lac la Martre), Gamèti (Rae Lakes), and Wekweètì (Snare Lake), the four communities of the Tłı̨chǫ Government, and Dettah (T'èɂehdaà) and Ndilǫ, the communities of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. The or Dogrib language belongs to the

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 ...

, which are part of the Na-Dene languages family. The dialect spoken in the communities of Dettah and Ndilǫ developed from intermarriage between Yellowknives and Tłı̨chǫ.

Treaty Process

Yellowknife B Band (Treaty No. 8 Dogrib)

In June 1899, negotiation began on Treaty 8, which covered in the Northwest Territory. It was an agreement between the Canadian Government and the Dene groups in the area in question; in return for their willingness to share their land with non-Natives, the Dene would receive medical and educational assistance, as well as treaty payments. The Canadian Government and the various Dene groups, including Yellowknives and Tłı̨chǫ under chief Drygeese with headmen Benaiyah and Sek'eglinan, signed the treaty in 1900 at Fort Resolution (called by the Tłı̨chǫ ''Įndàà''). After the signing, the group that signed the treaty was called the ''"Yellowknife B Band"'' (Helm, 7: 1994). At that point in history, Treaty No.8 was the largest land settlement the Canadian Government had ever made (PWNHC, Historical).

Dog Rib Rae Band (Treaty No. 11 Dogrib)

Twenty years after Treaty No. 8 was signed, oil was discovered in the Mackenzie River Valley. Upon the discovery, the Canadian Government proposed another treaty that would clear the way for miners and development of the area. The treaty was greatly debated, as the Natives did not want to lose their right to hunt, fish, gather, and trap in the area. They also opposed being "confined to

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined 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." ...

s." Many Dene felt that Treaty No. 8 was not honored by the Canadian Government, and some were afraid that this treaty would turn out similarly. Nevertheless, Treaty No. 11 was signed by the Tłı̨chǫ trading chief Monfwi in the summer of 1921. The Tłı̨chǫ groups that signed this treaty were then known as the ''"Dog Rib Rae Band"'' (Helm, 7: 1994), constituting the majority of the Tłı̨chǫ population. Both Treaty No. 8 and Treaty No. 11 overlap in several of their boundaries, and continue to cause conflict between the two separate treaty bands (nowadays two First Nations). Not all members of the Dene and Tłı̨chǫ communities agreed with or signed these treaties. In the fall of 1992, the Tłı̨chǫ submitted their own regional claim to the Canadian government. Negotiations were scheduled to begin in 1994 between the ''Yellowknife B Band (Treaty No. 8 Dogrib)'' and the ''Dog Rib Rae Band (Treaty No. 11 Dogrib)'', but the Yellowknife B Band refused to enter into negotiations. This complicated matters, as both treaty groups had land boundaries that overlapped each other. Self-governance seemed to be the issue between the two groups, as both wanted to have their say in the agreement. This halted the negotiations in 1994 while the Canadian government explored the boundary and self-government issue. A new mandate in April 1997 allowed negotiation of a "joint land claims and self-government agreement with the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council" (Treaty No. 11 Dogrib). In 1999, the Agreement-in-Principle was available for Dogrib approval and was accepted on January 7, 2000. Ninety-three percent of the Dog Rib Rae Band (Treaty No. 11 Dogrib) turned out to vote with over 84% voting for the agreement. After several community discussions and revisions, in March 2003 the Chief Negotiators initialed the agreement.

Tłı̨chǫ First Nations

Yellowknives Dene First Nation (formerly Yellowknife B Band)

The Yellowknife B Band (Treaty No. 8 Dogrib) formed the Yellowknives Dene First Nation in 1991 following the collapse of this territorial-wide comprehensive land claim negotiation. They currently negotiate a land claim settlement for their lands as part of the Akaitcho Land Claim Process by the Akaitcho Territory Government. The Yellowknives Dene First Nation (known by themselves as ''Weledeh Yellowknives Dene'') is the umbrella organization for the Dettah Yellowknives Dene First Nation (or – 'Burnt Point' in Tłı̨chǫ, referring to a traditional Dene fishing camp) and Ndilǫ Yellowknives Dene First Nation ( ). They speak the Dettah-Ndilǫ dialect of Tłı̨chǫ and are descendants of Tłı̨chǫ, Yellowknives and Chipewyan.

Tlicho Government (formerly Dog Rib Rae Band)

The Tlicho Agreement

The act of signing the agreement began the ratification process for the Tlicho Agreement. On Thursday, August 4, 2005, the Tlicho Agreement went into full effect, "The first official day of the Tlicho Government and the Tlicho community governments" (Tlicho Effective Date). On August 25, 2003, they signed a land claims agreement, also called Tłı̨chǫ, as the Tłı̨chǫ Government, with the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

. The agreement will cede a area between Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake in the NWT to Tłı̨chǫ ownership. The territory includes the communities of

, Gamèti, Wekweètì and Whatì along with Diavik Diamond Mine and Ekati Diamond Mine. The four Tłı̨chǫ bands, Dog Rib Rae First Nation, Wha Ti First Nation, Gameti First Nation and Dechi Laot'i First Nations, as well as their umbrella Dogrib Treaty 11 Council, ceased to exist on August 4, 2005, and have been succeeded by the Tlicho Government. The Tłı̨chǫ have their own legislative bodies in the area's four communities, of which the chiefs must be Tłı̨chǫ, though anyone may run for councillor and vote. The legislatures will have, among other authorities, the power to collect taxes, levy resource royalties, which currently go to the federal government, and control hunting, fishing and industrial development. The Tłı̨chǫ would also receive payments of $152 million over 15 years and annual payments of approximately $3.5 million. The federal government retains control of

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

, as it does across Canada, and the NWT controls services such as health care and education in partnership with the Tłı̨chǫ Nation through the Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency. The land-claims process took twenty years to conclude. A similar process with the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

in the NWT brought about the creation of the new territory of

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. Though Tłı̨chǫnèk'e is not a separate territory, the extent of its powers has invited comparisons both with the birth of Nunavut and with the creation of the NWT government in 1967.

Notable Tłı̨chǫ persons

* Dahti Tsetso, Dehcho First Nations environmentalist and educator * Richard Van Camp, writer, author of '' The Lesser Blessed'' * Ouri Scott, Architect, Advocate, Principal * Bear Lake Chief (Kʼaàwidaà, "highest trader", also known as Francis Yambi, or Eyambi,ʼEyirape, 1852-1913), was perhaps the most well known of the Tłı̨chǫ trading chiefs, in 1872, he married Emma Kowea (b. 1854) at Fort Norman (Tiłihtʼa, Tiłihtʼa Kǫ, Tulita), and together they raised nine children, member of the Sahtigotʼin ( "Great Bear Lake People") regional group he rose to become a prominent trading chief for Tłı̨chǫ groups trading at both Old Fort Rae (Nıhshı̀ Kʼe, Ninhsin Kon) and Fort Norman, is buried on an island on Lac Ste. Croix, north of the community of Gamètı (Rae Lakes) * Chief Edzo, great Tłı̨chǫ ("people's trader", i.e. trading chief), participated in a famous peace treaty at Mesa Lake in 1825 (or 1829) with the great Yellowknife trading chief, Akaitcho, ending the long period of hostility and warfare between the Yellowknives and Tłı̨chǫ * Dzemi (Ekawi Dzimi, called by Frank Russel: Jimmie), Tłı̨chǫ (trading chief) at Old Fort Rae, head of the donek'awi at Old Fort Rae, (leader) of the Dechi Laotʼi ("Edge of the Woods People") * Ewainghan (called by Frank Russel: Rabesca), Tłı̨chǫ (trading chief) at Old Fort Rae, (leader) of the Etʼaa gotʼį ("People Next to Another People") * Drygeese (also known as ''Dry Geese''), Tłı̨chǫ (trading chief) at Fort Resolution (Įndàà, Deninoo Kue), signed as spokesman of the Tłı̨chǫ and Yellowknives, later known as Yellowknife B Band, Treaty 8 in 1900 at Fort Resolution * Beniah, Tłı̨chǫ (trading chief) at Fort Resolution * Little Crapeau, Tłı̨chǫ (trading chief) at Fort Resolution * Chief Castor, Tłı̨chǫ (trading chief) at Fort Resolution * Chief Monfwi, ( "Small Mouth", May 21, 1866 1936),Monfwi
Tłı̨chǫ (trading chief), became ("leader") of the Dechı̨ Laotʼı̨ ("Edge of the Woods People"), was appointed by the Tłı̨chǫ leadership to represent all Tłı̨chǫ groups, signed Treaty 11 in 1921 for the Tłı̨chǫ groups, later known as Dog Rib Rae Band * The artist James Wedzin is a member of this nation from Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories. * The novel ''White Bird Black Bird'', by Val Wake, a CBC Northern Service reporter based in Yellowknife from 1969 to 1973, tells the story of Dogrib input into the formation of the NWT Indian Brotherhood. A lot of the action is set in what was then called Rae.

Notes

External links

Tlicho home page

Lessons From the Land: The Idaa Trail
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tlicho Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic First Nations in the Northwest Territories