Editing Sahtu

{{Short description|Dene First Nations ethnic group}}
{{redirect|North Slavey people|the European ethnolinguistic group|North Slavic people}}
{{other uses}}
{{Expand Turkish|Sahtular|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group=Sahtu
|image=Hareindiandog.jpg
|image_caption=[[Hare Indian Dog]] and Sahtu [[tipi]]s, 1845–1848
|population= Canada<br>[[Northwest Territories]]
|region1   =
|pop1       = 1,235 (2006)
|ref1       =<ref name="refLanguagegeeknorthslavey">[http://www.languagegeek.com/dene/kashogotine/north_slavey.html North Slavey]</ref>
|langs=[[English language|English]], [[Slavey language|Sahtu (North Slavey)]]
|rels=[[Christianity]], [[Animism]]
|related=[[Slavey people|South Slavey]]
}}
{{Location_map+
|Canada Northwest Territories
| width = 240
| float = right
| caption = [[Sahtu Region|Sahtu]] communities in the Northwest Territories
| places =
  {{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=[[Colville Lake, Northwest Territories|Colville Lake]] | lat=67.038 | long=-126.09 | label_size=75 | marksize=6| position=right}}
  {{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=[[Deline|Délįne]] | lat=65.1866 | long=-123.4216| label_size=75 | marksize=7|position=right}}
  {{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=[[Fort Good Hope]] | lat=66.258 | long=-128.628 | label_size=75 | marksize=7|position=left}}
  {{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=[[Norman Wells]] | lat=65.28 | long=-126.83 | label_size=75 | marksize=7| position=left}}
{{Location map~|Canada Northwest Territories | label=[[Tulita]] | lat=64.9 | long=-125.577 | label_size=75 | marksize=7| position=bottom}}
 }}
The '''Sahtú''' or '''[[Slavey|North Slavey]]''' (historically called ''Hare'' or ''Hareskin Indians'') are a [[Dene]] [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] people of the [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan-speaking]] ethnolinguistic group living in the vicinity of [[Great Bear Lake]] (''Sahtú'', the source of their name), [[Northwest Territories]], Canada. The Sahtú peoples live in [[Colville Lake, Northwest Territories|Colville Lake]], [[Deline]], [[Fort Good Hope]], [[Norman Wells]] and [[Tulita]] which form the [[Sahtu Region]] of the NWT.<ref>[http://www.sahtu.ca/#!sahtu-communities/c119b Sahtu Communities]</ref><ref>[http://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/about/regions/index.html#Sahtu About MACA - Sahtu] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824123342/http://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/about/regions/index.html |date=2012-08-24 }}</ref> The Dene of the region are represented by the [[Sahtu Dene Council]] who, in 1993, signed the [[Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement]]. Sahtú groups include the ''Hare Dene''<ref>{{cite book |title=The natural history of the varieties of man |author=Robert Gordon Latham |author-link=Robert Gordon Latham |publisher=J. Van Voorst |year=1850 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_zOFAAAAAcAAJ/page/n331 303] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_zOFAAAAAcAAJ}}</ref> (K'ahsho Got'ine District, today: Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope), ''Bear Lake Dene'' (Déline District), and ''Mountain Dene'' (Tulit'a District).<ref name=firstnation/> They call themselves also ''Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨ne'' (Trap People).

==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>

== Today's Sahtu Dene First Nations ==
Sahtu Dene Council<ref>[http://www.sahtu.ca/ The Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated (Sahtu Dene Council]</ref>
* [[Behdzi Ahda' First Nation]] (headquartered in [[Colville Lake, Northwest Territories|Colville Lake]] (''K'áhbamį́túé'' – ″ptarmigan net place″), ancestral homeland of the ''K'ahsho Got'ine (Hare(skin) Dene)'', the surrounding area is still inhabited by them, reserve: Colville Lake Settlement, Population: 219)
* [[Délı̨nę First Nation]]<ref>[http://www.deline.ca/ Website of the Deline First Nation]</ref> ([[Deline|Deline (''Délınę'')]] – ″Where the Water Flows", pronounced ′day-li-neh′, located near the headwaters of the [[Bear River (British Columbia)|Bear River]] (''Sahtu De''), where it rushes out of [[Great Bear Lake]] to the [[Mackenzie River]], a place nearby where the lake seldom freezes over was a fishing place for the ''Sahtúot’ine/Sahtugotine (Bear Lake Dene)'', reserve: Fort Franklin Settlement, Population: 981, Sahtú Dene families are often related to ''K'ahsho Got'ine (Hare(skin Dene)'', Gwich’in and ''Shita Got'ine (Mountain Dene)'' peoples. The people of Great Bear Lake had to be hardy and resourceful to survive in the past. Within living memory, they lived a nomadic life, following fish and game with the seasons. Many still supplement their diets by hunting, fishing and trapping at least part of the time. Homes often feature a traditional lodge or tipi used to smoke meat and fish. In contrast, many of these same homes today are equipped with satellite dishes to pull in North American television.)
* [[Fort Good Hope First Nation]] (also known as ''K’asho Gotine Dene Band'' or''K’asho Go’tine Community Council''), headquartered in [[Fort Good Hope]] (or the Charter Community of K'asho Got'ine), called ''Rádeyîlîkóé'' – "Where the Rapids Are" by the local ''K'ahsho Got'ine (Hare(skin) Dene)'', is located on a peninsula between Jackfish Creek and the east bank of the Mackenzie River, about 145&nbsp;km (90&nbsp;mi) northwest of Norman Wells, reserve: Fort Good Hope Settlement, Population: 869)
* [[Tulita Dene First Nation]] (''Tulita Band Council'', also known as ''Begade Shotagotine First Nation'', headquartered in [[Tulita|Tulit'a]] – "Where the two Rivers Meet", which was formerly known as Fort Norman, reserve: Fort Norman Settlement, Population: 670) – they are as ''Begade Shotagotine (eng)'', ''Begaa Deh Shuh Tah Got’ie (North Slavey)'' or as ''Begaee Shuhagot'ine (South Slavey variety)'' also members of the [[Dehcho First Nations]] of the South Slavey

==Language==
Sahtú speak the [[Slavey language|North Slavey]] language, which belongs to northwestern Canada group of [[Northern Athabaskan languages]].<ref name=firstnation>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstnationsseeker.ca/Sahtu.html |title=Sahtu North Slavey |accessdate=2007-10-15 |publisher=firstnationseeker.ca |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070607151357/http://www.firstnationsseeker.ca/Sahtu.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-06-07}}</ref>

==Notable Sahtu people==
*[[Ethel Blondin-Andrew]], former Member of Parliament for the district of the [[Northwest Territories (electoral district)|Western Arctic]]
* [[Rosemary Georgeson]], mixed Sahtu/[[Coast Salish]] multi-media artist
* [[Stephen Kakfwi]],  politician and was the ninth Premier of the Northwest Territories
* [[Rick Rivet]] (born 1949), Neo-expressionist painter<ref>[http://www.fellowship.eiteljorg.org/#fellows::ArtistList?value=1999 "The Fellows: 1999."] ''Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art.'' Accessed 4 May 2014.</ref>
* [[James Wah-Shee]], a former territorial level politician

==See also==
*[[Hare Indian Dog]]
*[[Saoyú-ʔehdacho]], a National Historic Site of Canada with spiritual and historical significance to the Sahtu

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Auld, James and Robert Kershaw, Eds. ''The Sahtu Atlas: Maps and Stories from the Sahtu Settlement Area in Canada's Northwest Territories''. [Norman Wells, N.W.T.]: Sahtu GIS Project, 2005. {{ISBN|0-9737630-0-0}}
* Blondin, George. ''When the World Was New: Stories of the Sahtú Dene''. Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada: Outcrop, the Northern Publishers, 1990. {{ISBN|1-919315-21-7}}
* Canada. ''Implementation Plan for the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement''. Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1993. {{ISBN|0-662-21422-6}}
* Kuhnlein, H V, et al. 1995. "DIETARY NUTRIENTS OF SAHTU DENE/METIS VARY BY FOOD SOURCE, SEASON AND AGE". ''Ecology of Food and Nutrition''. 34, no. 3: 183.
* Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group. ''Rakekée Gok'é Godi = Places We Take Care of''. [Yellowknife, NWT?: Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group], 2000.
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.sahtu.ca Official website:  Sahtú Secretariat and Sahtú Dene Council]
* [http://www.ccwhc.ca/sahtu/images/nwtmap.jpg Map: Sahtú region, NWT]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071223013042/http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/agr/sahtu/sahmet_e.html Sahtú Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement]
* [http://www.srrb.nt.ca/ Sahtu Renewable Resources Board]
* [http://www.srrb.nt.ca/harstudy.html Study of Sahtu Dene and Metis hunters, trappers, and fishers]
* Photos:
**[http://www.srrb.nt.ca/photos/olsen/index.html 1999-2002] and [http://www.srrb.nt.ca/photos/simmons/index.html 1967-1973]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20070814085431/http://survivingcanada.resist.ca/image/tid/18 Tulita, Fort Norman, Sahtú Region]

{{Aboriginal peoples in the Northwest Territories}}

[[Category:Dene peoples]]