Editing Sahtu (section)

==Ethnography==
An early  description of Sahtú cultures is given in [[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)|Alexander Mackenzie]]'s journal of his voyage down the [[Mackenzie River]] to the [[Arctic Ocean]] in 1789.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35658 Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793]</ref>

Although there are close interrelationships among the Dene communities, they are culturally and linguistically distinct. The ''K’ahsho Got’ine (Hare(skin) Dene)'' are now centred in Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake. The ''Shita Got’ine (Mountain Dene)'' have joined with the ''K’áálǫ Got’ine (Willow Lake Dene)'' (they lived around K’áálô Tué – ″Willow Lake″, today known as Brackett Lake) in the community of Tulit’a. The ''Sahtúot’ine (Sahtú Dene or Great Bear Lake Dene)'' are named after Sahtú/Great Bear Lake, and are based in Deline. Métis people, descendants of relationships established between Dene people and fur traders, reside in all five communities of the region. The Hareskin Dene called themselves ''K'a so Got’ine/Katoo Got’ine'' ("big willow people") or ''K’ahsho Got’ine/K'áshot’ Got’ine'' (″big-arrowhead-people″, mistranslated as Hareskin people, an English rendering of ''Gahwié Got’ine'' – ″Rabbit(skin) People″).

The Déline community of the Sahtú Dene experienced great loss during Canada's participation in the [[Manhattan Project]]. The need for [[Radioactive decay|radioactive]] materials, (such as [[radium]]), to create [[Nuclear weapon|atomic weapons]] was met with the deposits mined from the [[Eldorado Mine (Northwest Territories)|Eldorado Mine]] at [[Port Radium]] on Great Bear Lake. The Sahtú Dene were hired to transport the ore containing radium from the Northwest Territories to be processed in [[Ontario]] or the United States. Since much of the uranium that existed in Europe was under [[Nazism|Nazi]] control, the radium deposits in Canada were vital to the creation of the first atomic bombs. Unaware of the radiation's effects, the Sahtú Dene used cloth sacks to transport the ore.<ref>[http://www.ccnr.org/dene.html The Dene People of Great Bear Lake Call for a Federal Response to Uranium Deaths in Deline]</ref><ref>[http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/SEEJ/Mining/korstrom.html Deline Poisoned? Past area mining linked to cancer]</ref><ref>[http://www.porthopehistory.com/nucleargenocide/nucleargenocide1.htm Nuclear Genocide in Canada]</ref>

The number of deaths caused by radiation is disputed by the Government of Canada. The government report says that the people of Deline did not handle [[yellowcake]] but [[sulfur]] powder. The level of exposure to uranium ore without modern safety standards is expected to cause a small number of excess cancer deaths. <ref>[http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100023105/1100100023107 CDUT Final Report Summary]</ref>

Ultimately, the devastating effects of [[Acute radiation syndrome|radiation poisoning]] impacted the Déline community severely. A 1999 documentary by Peter Blow entitled ''[[Village of Widows]]'' detailed the experiences of the Sahtú Dene.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kawarthanow.com/2017/10/25/village-of-widows-peter-blow/|title = Documentary chronicles how Canada's role in the atomic bomb affected an indigenous community|date = 25 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://peacenews.info/node/5146/peter-blow-village-widows|title = Peter Blow, 'A Village of Widows' &#124; Peace News}}</ref>