Did you know that The Self Government negotiations have been taking place since 1997? We neogiated towards an Agreement in Principle AiP which was signed in 2003 and paves the way to begin more detailed negotiations to achieve a Final Self-Government Agreement.

History of Deline

Déline (pronounced De-la-nay) is the only community located on the shores of the eighth largest lake in the world - Sahtu (Great Bear Lake). Nestled in a sheltered bay in the southwest corner of the lake, Déline is one of the larger communities in the Sahtu (the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim area), in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

More than 650 people live here, about 100 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, and just within the treeline. Most residents are descended from the Sahtúot'ine - the Bear Lake people who have lived in this area for many generations. Their stories of traditional life, recorded by the young people of Déline are located in the section called Our Culture and Community under Déline Stories.

Getting here

Déline means "where the waters flow", a reference to the headwaters of the Great Bear River, Sahtu De. The river drains Great Bear Lake, an area of 33,857 km², straddling the Arctic Circle. The river has provided a means of transportation for millennia, and today, in summer, jet boats travel the route, connecting on the Mackenzie River with other Sahtu communities.

Déline is located at 65°10' N ,123°25' W, 544 km northwest of Yellowknife. There are no roads leading to the community, but frequent flights from Norman Wells and Yellowknife by North-Wright Airways transport people and freight. In winter (late January, February and March), a 105 kilometer winter road links Déline to Tulit'a and the Mackenzie River winter road, which joins the NWT highway system at Wrigley.

Déline was known as Fort Franklin until 1993, when the Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement was signed. That year the people of Déline reclaimed their own name for the community.

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