Tulı́t'a

Tulı́t’a 

There is a thing I would like to say about the oil in Łegǫ́́łı̨ (Norman Wells). What was the name of the man who found that oil? It was our own father, Francis Nineye. When he found the oil, he took a sample of it, put it in a lard pail and brought it out into Tulit'a (Fort Norman). That same summer, he had an accident and died.

Now the white people turn around and claim they found the oil. My dad was the first guy to find that oil...He was staying right where Łegǫ́́łı̨ is now, and the Dene had about five or six log shacks. They were trapping and hunting there for a living. He took the sample of that oil in a lard kettle and brought it into Tulit'a. He gave it to Gene Gaudet, the Hudson's Bay Manager and he sent it out on the boat, it had to be a boat, there was no planes then. We never heard of that oil again and we never got the lard kettle back. We never could do anything about it again. There is no record.

John Blondin, from Dene Cultural Institute, Dehcho: “Mom, we’ve been discovered!” Yellowknife: Dene Cultural Institute, 1989. 40.

Tulita is named for its location where the Sahtu Deh/Great Bear River flows into Deh Cho/Mackenzie River, “where the waters meet.” Great Bear River is the Dene travel route to Great Bear Lake, where people of the Sahtu Region travel to hunt for caribou, and rarely, muskoxen. Since ancient times, people would camp at Tulita across from the huge limestone outcropping known as Kweteniɂaá /Bear Rock, an important site in Dene lore. The Northwest Company established Fort Norman as a fur trading post at this crossroad in 1810 to encourage trade with peoples south of Fort Good Hope and with the Sahtúot’ine of Great Bear Lake. When the Hudson’s Bay Company took over the post, it was relocated several times, but by 1851 it returned to the original site.

The Dene people of Tulita are known for having revived the traditional skill of making moose skin boats. This was the first such boat to be built in decades. It is thought that the boats came into use during the fur trade. Their construction combines the ancient design of the smaller Dene birch and spruce bark canoes, and the shallow, broad and long York boats developed by fur traders in the 19th century to navigate the inland rivers of Canada with large loads. A second moose skin boat was constructed for the documentary film The Last Moose Skin Boat, and the boat remains preserved at the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre.

Situated within an oil-rich district, the people of Tulita have had to become adept at negotiating with petroleum interests, and many young community members have found jobs in the industry. At the same time, the community is taking measures to protect traditional heritage sites.

Bear Rock and winter road Watching the Mackenzie River, Tulita © R. Kershaw

Nachaɂda / Old Fort Point

Fort Norman was constructed in 1810 at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Great Bear Rivers. In 1844 it was moved about 48 km upstream to a site a few miles below the Keele River, called ‘Old Fort Point’, near the site of the old North West Co. Fort Castor. In 1851 it was moved back to its present site.

Archaeological investigations at Old Fort Point in the summer of 1973 recorded the presence of two storage cellar depressions and the remains of two stone chimney piles. The archaeologists noted that the site had undergone considerable erosion. Artifacts recovered from the site include a kaolin pipe stem, a small strip of copper, and pieces of chinking clay, as well as several fragments of moose, caribou, and beaver bones. Fort Castor, built in 1804, was never located during the archaeological survey. On the site map (below) we have marked two locations; one at Old Fort Point (the site of old Fort Norman) and a second site to the south. Local tradition indicates that this might be the remains of another post and may be Fort Castor. From Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

Tuwí Tué / Mahony Lake Massacre Site

The story is still recounted in the oral tradition of Tulita, and an excellent description of the event and trial proceedings can be found in Foster (1989). Foster (1989) remarks that the case is important to Canadian social and judicial history because “it is the only offence ever tried by a Canadian court during the HBC’s licenced monopoly over the Indian Territories, [and] stands as a little known example of how imperial law was enforced in the fur trade.

In December of 1835 three employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company Post at Fort Norman were sent to collect a cache of fish at Mahony Lake. Encamped near the lake was a Dene family who, according to oral tradition, were employed to provide meat and fish for the HBC post. Partly as a result of earlier problems between one of these men and a young married Dene woman, a terrible fight ensued, and the three Hudson’s Bay employees murdered eleven men, women, and children. One of the men was sent to London, England for trail, and was later transported to Canada. Another was tried for murder in Lower Canada (largely as a result of testimony given by one of his accomplices) and was sentenced to hang, which was later commuted to transportation to Australia. While awaiting a transportation, he was jailed in a prison hulk in England for several years, where he died. The last man was imprisoned for a short period while awaiting trial but was eventually set free after giving testimony against his accomplice.

Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

Tulita Traditional Place Names project map

Tłı̨ Dehdele Dı̨dlǫ/ Red Dog Mountain

The site is a large mountain located on the Keele River, considered a sacred site by the Mountain Dene. A Tulita elder relates the historical and cultural importance of the site:

Keele River

Long ago, when people went by Red Dog Mountain, they never passed the mountain on the river. They used to get out of the river and portage through the mountains and put in again below Red Dog Mountain. ... When they got to Red Dog Mountain, the men portaged because the Red Dog would take and eat them. That is why they always portaged. One time, when they were all gathered getting ready to portage when a man who had medicine and was a really good hunter said, "Give me all of your possessions." He took mitts, moccasins, weapons, and food. He gathered all of their possessions together and put them in his canoe. He then turned to the people and said I am going to go down the river past the Red Dog Mountain. He wanted to know why the mountain took people. As he started down the river a whirlpool opened before him. He started throwing all the goods into the water to pay. After he threw all the goods into the water the eddy subsided and let him go down the river. Up to that time they did not know what was living at Red Dog Mountain. When he went through the mountain he saw the Red Dog for the first time. He told the people that every time they pass Red Dog Mountain they must show respect. You must pay the Red Dog with something. So people started leaving matches and shot when they passed by on the river as an offering. One time long ago when people were passing by Red Dog Mountain, the spring that pours from the face of the mountain into the river whistled and spurted water like steam. They did not know what it meant at the time, but that year the first tuberculosis epidemic occurred. The elders knew that it was a sign that something was wrong. A few years later it whistled ... and ... spit out water again before sickness again struck the people.

Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

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Deline

Délı̨nę

I Like Summer

by Wesley Kenny, Deline Mackenzie Valley Viewer, 2001

I like summer because of...
Going for boatrides...
or picking berries...
or going hunting...
Or playing soccer...
Or going to the bush...
Or going fishing...
Or going for a bike ride...
Or camping...
Or going for a trip to Yellowknife...
Or playing in the new playground...
Or playing kick the can at the church...
Or playing games at the old campground... ...With my friends.
Or playing boards with my friends...
Or playing football...
Or baseball...
Or taking jumps around with my friends...

Then we go to the Northern and buy pop... because we are thirsty.

Then we might play soccer again.

Deline, “where the water flow” is a community of about 650 people located on the west end of Keith Arm of Great Bear Lake/Sahtú, about 10 km from the outlet of the lake into the Great Bear River. It is a place thriving with wildlife. At one time, Deline was named after explorer Sir John Franklin, who built a fort there and used it as winter quarters during his second expedition in 1825-1827. The remains of the old fort were excavated in 1987. A letter from Sir John Franklin may have documented the first games of hockey at Fort Franklin in 1825, which he described as an enjoyable form of exercise for his crew.

Deline is also known as an important spiritual centre, birthplace of the prophet known as Ehtséo/Grandfather Ayha. Ehtséo Ayha’s life spanned 1858-1940, a critical period of contact with non-aboriginal outsiders. These included fur traders, missionaries, and opportunists seeking to profit from the rich radium/uranium pitchblende that was discovered on the east shore of Great Bear Lake in 1930. Ehtséo Ayha’s wisdom and prophesies are commemorated annually at a Spiritual Gathering in Deline attracting people from across the Northwest Territories, and as far away as Kugluktuk, Nunavut.

The trauma caused by the realization of the possible impacts of uranium mining on the land and people has been a catalyst for positive action by the Sahtúot’ine, the Dene people of Deline. In addition to reviving spiritual practices, the Sahtúot’ine have taken strong initiatives in researching the impacts of the mine, protecting the land and achieving self-government. As a result of hard work and years of persistence, the community succeeded in achieving the establishment of Grizzly Bear Mountain/Saoyúé and Scented Grass Hills/Ehdacho, Canada’s largest National Historic Sites in 1998. Deline is a leading community in the negotiation of terms for self-government.

Deline youth © Robert Kershaw, 2004
Fort Franklin site marker © Morris Neyelle

Neregah / North Shore of Great Bear Lake

The north shore of Great Bear Lake (from McGill Bay, east to Greenhorn River) is a very important traditional use area, associated with many stories and named places. From the north shore Sahtu Dene gained access to caribou and musk ox hunting, and barrenlands trapping. Many of the stories talk of contact with the Inuit who were met inland, northward from the north shore. It is still used today as a traditional use area.

Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

Deline To Kugluktuk Trip

Our first stop for the night was at the point of Ɂehdacho (Scented Grass Hills). The next stop was at the south shore of Ɂehdąı̨ı̨la (Caribou Point) where we spotted caribou, so we shot it and made fire for tea.

We had one problem on the way to Hornby Bay and that was one of the skidoos from Deline developing a mechanical problem. It was a good thing one of the visitors from Kugluktuk was an experienced skiddoo mechanic, because he fixed that skiddoo right on the spot.

Once we got on land, the visitors from Kugluktuk led the way and it seemed like there was no trail to follow because the trail wasn't going straight. The trip took a couple of overnight camps and one was at one of the many small cabins.

The return trip was a bit harder because the weather was turning warm and snow was starting to melt from the rocks. Most of the travellers from Deline were travelling with box sleds or fibreglass sleds from the store, and some of them broke apart easily from all the rocks. The people from Kugluktuk loaned some komatiks (Inuit sleds) to the visitors, and almost all their sleds had steel sliders.

The return trip was okay, until they got to the top of Æehdâîîla, where we could see Great Bear Lake. The trail barely had any snow. Whenever you mix steel and rock together, you would get a loud screeching sound and that means, you are not getting anywhere. And that's exactly what happened. Instead of a normal two hour trip to the lake, it took six or seven hours. By the time we got to the lake, it was two or three in the morning.

We arrive back in Deline the next day, safe and sound. Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

Deline Traditional Place Names project map

Turılı̨/ Johnny Hoe Fishery

An important place for the elders of Délı̨nę, Turılı̨ is known as a traditional domestic spring fishery, and is considered the traditional territory of the Turilı̨ Got'ine. Elders say that in the old days, at the mouth of the river, the Dogribs would begin building a fish weir from the east side, and the Slaveys from the west. When they met in the middle the event would be celebrated by a feast. Historically it was associated with the war between the Yellowknives and the Dogrib: a place where Edzo (chief of the Dogribs) killed a group of Akaitcho's people. The trail from Fort Rae is near here, crossing the base of Grizzly Bear Mountain.

The area is known for prime winter caribou hunting and for year-round moose hunting. Elders instruct young hunters from Délı̨nę to watch for caribou in the area in early winter. If the caribou are left alone for a short while after they first arrive they will cross the base of Grizzly Bear Mountain and take up winter foraging in the area west of the Johnny Hoe River, where they can be hunted all winter. If the hunters disturb them too early then the caribou will abandon the area. Consequently it is a very sensitive area. It is also an important spring hunting area for beaver and muskrat. There are seven cabins located there today. One of the cabins, on an island, was built by a White trapper and is named after him- Archiewa Du. He died many years ago and was eaten by his dogs.

In recent times it was discovered that the fish in the Johnny Hoe River are contaminated from natural-source mercury, causing many in the community of Délîne to abandon this important domestic fishery. Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

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Fort Good Hope

Rádeyı̨lı̨kóé

There’s A Little Town Called Fort Good Hope.
By Miranda McNeely, FGH

There’s a little town called Fort Good Hope, and it is a cultural and traditional town where the Dene and Metis still live off the land.

Some families still stay out on the land. They hunt and fish. The men will set traps and hunt. The women will go about their daily chores such as making dry meat or cutting up the meat. They also cook for their families, and do sewing and cleaning. So all day, every person in the camp is busy. In the evening, they all relax and take it easy.

They would stay out there for three months or two months. When Christmas comes, they travel back by skiddoo to a little town called Fort Good Hope. It takes about seven or eight hours, but it depends where they stayed in the bush.

When they get home, the people hug their family and their kids. They’re glad to be back in a little town called Fort Good Hope.

Mackenzie Valley Viewer, 2001

Fort Good Hope is named Rádeyı̨lı̨kóé, meaning “home at the rapids,” for its location below the Ramparts Rapids. The Ramparts also refers to the steep walled river canyon at the rapids. Known as Fee Yee in the local dialect, this is an ancient fishery and spiritual site.

Known in anthropological literature as Hareskin people, the Dene of Fort Good Hope call themselves K’asho Got’ine, or “big arrowhead people.” This may have been confused by early missionaries and anthropologists with the Dene term for rabbit, “gah”; indeed, the people of this area were known for their skill at making woven rabbitskin clothing.

Fort Good Hope was established by the North West Company in 1805 as the first fur trading post in the lower Mackenzie Valley. Thus it became a gathering place for Shita Got’ine, Gwich’in, and even Inuvialuit people of the Mackenzie Delta who came there to trade. Fort Good Hope became the centre of a vast trading network, extending north to Herschel Island and west to Russian Alaska.

A Roman Catholic mission was established by Oblate priest Henri Grollier in 1859, and during the 1960s, Father Emile Petitot worked with local people to construct the first Roman Catholic church in the Northwest Territories. Using paints made with local fish oils, Petitot decorated the church with richly coloured murals.

Fort Good Hope came to national attention in 1975 when the community hosted a hearing of the Berger Inquiry and a documentary film was made about the event. Community members have since played a strong role in documenting traditional environmental knowledge as a basis for defining the terms of economic development, so as to minimize environmental impacts and maximize benefits for Dene and Métis people. Home of the biennial Wood Block Music Festival, Fort Good Hope has nurtured a strong culture of music, including traditional drumming, the Métis fiddle style evolved during the fur trade, and contemporary rock and roll.

photos © Robert Kershaw

Main Street Summer feast

Koigojeré Du / Manitou Island

Manitou Island is used by the residents of Fort Good Hope as a source of firewood, and for small game hunting. The logs for the community complex were cut and hauled from here. Together with its history as a former location of the HBC fort, the island is very important to the community.

Fort Good Hope was established in 1804 by the North West Company, and originally located on the left bank of the Mackenzie River somewhere near Thunder River (Voorhis 1930:75). In 1826, after the 1821 amalgamation with the Hudson's Bay Company, the fort was moved to Manitou Island were it operated until 1836. Flooded, and damaged by ice in 1836, it was moved to its current location on the right bank of the Mackenzie River, across from Manitou Island.

Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

Tsodehnı̨lıne and Tuyát’ah / Ramparts River and Wetlands

The Ramparts River and Wetlands flows from the foothills of the Mackenzie Mountains east to the Mackenzie River, entering it just above the Ramparts Canyon, and the community of Fort Good Hope. The river, meandering through critical wetlands, has been an important hunting, trapping and fishing area for Fort Good Hope families for generations. Particularly important for hunting moose, beaver and muskrats, the area is also known locally as a critical waterfowl breeding site. It is also known as an excellent place to begin teaching young hunters the rules and behaviours necessary for a successful hunt.

The Ramparts River and Wetlands contains many named places including a sacred site, the Thunderbird Place.

Ɂıdıtué Dáyı̨́dá / The Thunderbird Place

Located on a sharp bend in the Ramparts River, the Thunderbird Place is a dangerous place. In times long ago, a giant Thunderbird lived here, and travellers were often killed by it. An elder with powerful medicine killed the Thunderbird, making river travel safe again. There are several places in the Sahtu settlement area where other water monsters live, or have lived, and these places are always considered dangerous, requiring special rituals or practices when travelling nearby. As told by an elder from Fort Good Hope, the story recounts how people still to this day feel uneasy when traveling past the Thunderbird Place:

This was in the ancient days, people who traveled this river would come to this spot and they were killed by the Thunderbird monster, which lived there. Finally, an elder decided to do something to rid this area of this monster. Maybe this man had medicine to understand what made the monster tick. He threw a rock into the water, and from then on there was no problem with it again. Some places the water is muddy and I don’t feel as relaxed as when I go to other places. I always feel uneasy if I'm in this area.

Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

Fort Good Hope/Colville Lake Traditional Place Names project map

Faɂfa Nılı̨́ne / Mountain River

Sheep hunting up Mountain River © R. Kershaw, 2004

An important traditional trail used by Mountain Dene from Fort Good Hope. There are many named places, camping, hunting and fishing locations and many stories associated with the river. In the old days, mooseskin boats were built to float down the river in spring. Many stories recount the trials and tribulations of mooseskin boat travellers attempting to navigate the many dangerous canyons on the river. At the head of the canyons, the boats would stop to let the women and children out to walk over on the portage trail. Only the men would lead the boats through. Today it continues to be an important moose hunting area, and is known as the shortest route to the highest mountains, and sheep hunting areas. Popular with white water canoeists, the river has tremendous tourism potential.

Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group, Rakekée Gok’é Godi: Places We Take Care Of.

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