About us

The Deline Got’ine
Government (DGG) is a major achievement for the people of Deline.

September 1, 2016, that vision became a reality as the Deline First Nation,
Deline Land Corporation and Charter Community of Deline were combined into one government.

The Deline Got’ine Government (DGG)  is the first combined Indigenous/public government in the Northwest Territories. A combined Indigenous/public government is Treaty-based with self-governing authorities. But unlike other self-governments, it represents and serves not only Deline First Nation Citizens, but all residents of Deline.

Since 1995, the Deline Elders’ vision was for their community to have one organization with responsibility for governing the community, which has the funding and powers to make decisions and deliver programs in a way that makes sense for Deline. On September 1, 2016, that vision became a reality as the Deline First Nation, Deline Land Corporation and Charter Community of Deline were combined into one government.

The DGG assumed the authorities, programs and services of these three organizations, along with self-government authorities. The community now has one government with one set of rules. It can also take on new self-government powers and responsibilities. The Deline Got’ine Government has important tools to support and serve the people of Deline—including all Deline land claim beneficiaries no matter where they live,  and Deline First Nation Citizens—particularly in preserving their culture, language, spiritual practices and land-based way of life

Official languages

Deline Got’ine dialect of North Slavey & English

Language is important to the culture of Deline. 

That is why the official languages of the DGG are both English and the Deline Got’ine dialect of North Slavey.

Anyone may communicate with the DGG in either of these languages.

The Dgg Logo

Designed by John Tetso, a former Chief of Deline

John Tetso NWT Archives N-1992-255-0319

The Deline Got’ine Government’s logo is truly representative of the people of Deline. The inspiration for the logo came from a contest within the community. From 16 submissions, Blair Yukon’s artwork was chosen as the winner, and became the foundation for the final design.

The drum represents the foundation of the DGG, built on Deline culture, spiritual practices and traditions. The four rays on top of Great Bear Lake represent Deline’s four prophets and emphasize the importance of spirituality within the community.

The overlapping ribbons symbolize the people. The weaving of the ribbons represents how the people are connected to tradition and remain true to their cultural roots, as they move toward the future.

The image of Great Bear Lake comes from a map drawn by John Tetso, a former Chief of Deline, who has since passed on. The map highlights the importance of Great Bear Lake to the people of Deline.

The teepee represents the people of Deline, coming together and united by one government. It also shows the location of Deline on Great Bear Lake.

Time Line 1970 - 2023

January 1, 2014

In the 1970s

In the 1970s the Dene Nation worked on negotiating a land claim for all Dene regions. At that time, Canada did not recognize that Dene had a right to govern themselves. The Dene Nation disagreed, and insisted that their right to self-government existed.

January 1, 2014

By 1990

Political self-determination

By 1990, Canada agreed that the Dene did have the right to what was then called “political self-determination”. Chapter 5 and Appendix B in the Sahtu land claim confirmed Canada’s obligation to negotiate self-government after the land claim was signed.

By 1990

in 1993.

The Sahtu Dene and Métis then signed their land claim in 1993.

When the community of Deline decided to negotiate a self-government agreement, the Deline Elders had strong views that the community should have one government to bring everyone together. This was based in part on the teachings of Prophet Ehtseo Ayah. The Elders believed that too many organizations were responsible for governing the community: a First Nation created by Canada’s Indian Act, the Land Corporation created under the Sahtu Land Claim, and a Charter Community created by the GNWT. The Elders believed that the community could be governed better and that people would work together better if there was one government. They also wanted to make sure that the one government would have more control over decision making in the community. This vision was supported by the community. The community knew that to have one government, they would have to negotiate with Canada and the GNWT to change their current arrangement.

in 1993.

In 1995

Talks with Canada and the GNWT

In 1995, the community started talks with Canada and the GNWT about self-government to work out the details of what they would negotiate.

In 1995

In 1996

A Process and Schedule Agreement,

In 1996, they signed a Process and Schedule Agreement, describing a schedule for negotiations and the subject matters to be discussed.

In 1996

August 23, 2003,

Between 1996 and 2003

Then, between 1996 and 2003, Deline, Canada and the GNWT negotiated the Self-Government Agreement-in-Principle. The Agreement–in-Principle, signed in Deline on August 23, 2003, described major parts of the self-government agreement—the new government model, its main responsibilities, and how its authorities would work with the authorities of GNWT and Canada—but did not include all the details. The Agreement-in-Principle was signed by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs of the GNWT, the Chief of the Deline Dene Band and the President of the Deline Land Corporation. This agreement, in effect, represents an important community approval of the Indigenous/public government model. After the Agreement-in-Principle was signed, Deline, Canada and the GNWT began to negotiate the Final Self-Government Agreement (FSGA). This included discussions about how self-government would be financed, what the parties must do to make sure the agreement would work the way it is supposed to, and how the self-government agreement and the land claim would work together. At that time the Deline Self-Government Team held a series of workshops where community members developed a community constitution. The negotiators always kept in mind that almost half of Deline’s First Nation members and land claim beneficiaries live outside of Deline, most of whom live in Yellowknife.

August 23, 2003,

In 2010,

a Yellowknife office was established

In 2010, a Yellowknife office was established that was responsible for making sure that Deline members and beneficiaries living outside of Deline were aware of the agreement and could ask questions and get answers and information.

In 2010,

On December 19, 2013

Deline Final Self-Government Agreement.

On December 19, 2013, the Deline First Nation, Deline Land Corporation, and the governments of Canada and the NWT initialled the Deline Final Self-Government Agreement. This is the document that laid the groundwork for Deline self-government. Before the agreement could be finalized, it had to be approved by the members of the Deline First Nation, as well as Deline beneficiaries of the Sahtu land claim, through a ratification vote.

On December 19, 2013

On March 12, 2014

Approve the final agreement:

On March 12, 2014, the eligible voters—roughly half of whom lived outside of the community of Deline—voted overwhelmingly to approve the final agreement: 84% of eligible voters said yes. Following this ratification, the territorial and federal governments also had to approve the agreement and pass legislation to recognize it.

On March 12, 2014

September 2015

Both governments passed laws recognizing the Deline Self-Government Agreement

Both governments passed laws recognizing the Deline Self-Government Agreement in 2015. In September 2015, the Deline First Nation, Deline Land Corporation and Deline Charter Community began the process of preparing to dissolve, and to merge their functions within the Deline Got’ine Government. The Deline Gotine Government began operating on September 1, 2016 and is now the one government that the Elders envisioned. For more information on the Deline self-government ratification campaign and the transition to the DGG, see the archived Our Deline website.

September 2015

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