Délı̨nę

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title: "Délı̨nę" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["charter-communities-in-the-northwest-territories", "communities-in-the-sahtu-region", "mining-communities-in-the-northwest-territories", "dene-communities", "hudson's-bay-company-forts", "1825-establishments-in-the-british-empire", "road-inaccessible-communities-of-the-northwest-territories"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Délı̨nę" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameDélı̨nę
other_nameDélįnę
settlement_typeCharter Community
image_skylineDeline, NT (158842786).jpg
image_mapGreat Bear Lake.png
map_captionGreat Bear Lake, NWT, Canada
pushpin_mapCanada Northwest Territories#Canada
pushpin_map_captionLocation of Délı̨nę
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameCanada
subdivision_type1Territory
subdivision_name1Northwest Territories
subdivision_type2Region
subdivision_name2Sahtu
subdivision_type3Settlement area
subdivision_name3Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement
subdivision_type4Electoral district
subdivision_name4Sahtu
leader_titleCommunity Leader
leader_name
leader_title1Community Officer
leader_name1David Little
leader_title2MLA
leader_name2Daniel McNeely
established_titleCharter Community
established_date1 April 1993
area_footnotes(2021)
area_land_km279.39
elevation_m214
coordinates
population_as_of2021
population_footnotes
population_total573
population_density_km27.2
timezoneMST
utc_offset−07:00
timezone_DSTMDT
utc_offset_DST−06:00
postal_code_typePostal code
postal_codeX0E 0G0
area_code867
blank_nameTelephone exchange
blank_info589
blank2_namePrices
blank3_nameLiving cost
blank3_info167.5
blank4_nameFood price index
blank4_info164.5
websitewww.deline.ca
footnotesSources:

Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Canada Flight Supplement 2013 figure based on Edmonton = 100 2015 figure based on Yellowknife = 100 | ::

| name = Délı̨nę | native_name = | other_name = Délįnę | settlement_type = Charter Community | motto = | image_skyline = Deline, NT (158842786).jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_map = Great Bear Lake.png | map_caption = Great Bear Lake, NWT, Canada | pushpin_map = Canada Northwest Territories#Canada | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Délı̨nę | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Canada | subdivision_type1 = Territory | subdivision_name1 = Northwest Territories | subdivision_type2 = Region | subdivision_name2 = Sahtu | subdivision_type3 = Settlement area | subdivision_name3 = Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement | subdivision_type4 = Electoral district | subdivision_name4 = Sahtu | leader_title = Community Leader | leader_name = | leader_title1 = Community Officer | leader_name1 = David Little | leader_title2 = MLA | leader_name2 = Daniel McNeely | established_title = Charter Community | established_date = 1 April 1993 | area_footnotes = (2021) | area_land_km2 = 79.39 | elevation_m = 214 | coordinates = | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = | population_total = 573 | population_density_km2 = 7.2 | timezone = MST | utc_offset = −07:00 | timezone_DST = MDT | utc_offset_DST = −06:00 | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = X0E 0G0 | area_code = 867 | blank_name = Telephone exchange | blank_info = 589 | blank2_name = Prices | blank3_name = Living cost | blank3_info = 167.5 | blank4_name = Food price index | blank4_info = 164.5 | website = www.deline.ca | footnotes = Sources:

Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Canada Flight Supplement 2013 figure based on Edmonton = 100 2015 figure based on Yellowknife = 100 | official_name = The Charter Community of Délı̨nę (North Slavey: ) is located in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, on the western shore of Great Bear Lake and is 544 km northwest of Yellowknife. Délı̨nę means "where the waters flow", a reference to the headwaters of the Great Bear River, Sahtúdé. It is the only current settlement on the shores of Great Bear Lake, as Fort Confidence was last used in the 1800s and Port Radium closed in 1982.

There is no permanent road to the community and access is by Déline Airport, which is serviced by North-Wright Airways In addition Déline Water Aerodrome in available during the summer and an ice road in the winter.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Deline4.jpg" caption="On the shores of Great Bear Lake"] ::

According to early records, a trading post was established in this general area as early as 1799 by the North West Company, but it did not last very many years. In 1825, Peter Warren Dease of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) erected an outpost here as the staging area and winter quarters for Sir John Franklin's second Arctic expedition of 1825–1827. It became known as Fort Franklin. Sir John Franklin's diary records that his men played ice sports very similar to what we now call hockey. As such, the modern-day town promotes itself as one of the birthplaces of the sport of ice hockey.

The HBC returned and established a post called Fort Norman a short distance west, and across the lake narrows, from John Franklin's original post, between 1863 and 1869, and then relocated Fort Norman to its current location at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Bear Rivers (now Tulita).

Fort Franklin as a modern-era trading post of the HBC was not established until later in the 19th century. It was constructed at one of the most productive Dene fisheries in the Mackenzie River drainage basin and was for the benefit of the Dene people who lived in near isolation along the shores of Great Bear Lake.

The area became prominent when pitchblende was discovered at the Eldorado Mine, some 250 km away, on the eastern shore, at Port Radium. During World War II, the Canadian Government took over the mine and began to produce uranium for the then-secret American nuclear bomb project. Uranium product was transported from Port Radium by barge across Great Bear Lake where a portage network was established along the Bear River, across the bay from Fort Franklin, where many of the Dene men found work. As the risks associated with radioactive materials were not well communicated, it is believed that many of the Dene were exposed to dangerous amounts of radiation, which Délı̨nę residents believe resulted in the development of cancer and led to premature deaths.

The name of Fort Franklin was changed on 1 June 1993 to Délı̨nę, which means "where the waters flow", a reference to the headwaters of the Great Bear River, Sahtúdé.

Nearby Saoyú-ʔehdacho, the largest National Historic Site of Canada, was designated in 1997 and is jointly administered by Parks Canada and the Délı̨nę First Nation.

On 5 March 2016, a tank truck fell partway through the ice road just a few days after the government had increased the allowed maximum weight limit to 40000 kg on the road. The truck which was 3 km outside of Délı̨nę, and close to the community's fresh water intake as well as a major fishing area, contained approximately 30000 L of heating fuel and was one of 70 truck loads intended to resupply the community. The fuel was removed from the truck by 2 am, 8 March.

Archaeology

John Franklin's 1825–1827 outpost was excavated by the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in 1987. The excavation uncovered beads, rings, and buttons indicating the extent of trade between the Dene and Europeans. The site is protected by the Northwest Territories Archaeological Sites Regulations. In 1996, the site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

Land claims and self-government

Délı̨nę is represented by the Délı̨nę First Nation and belongs to the Sahtu Dene Council. Through the council, they completed negotiations with the Government of Canada for a comprehensive land claim settlement in 1993.

Pursuant to the 1993 Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, Délı̨nę subsequently negotiated a self-government agreement with the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Canada. The Final Self-Government Agreement was ratified by a majority vote of Délı̨nę's membership in March 2014. The Final Self-Government Agreement was signed by its leadership, by the Government of the Northwest Territories and by the Government of Canada in February 2015, enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in March 2015, and enacted by the Parliament of Canada in June 2015 through Bill C-63. On 1 September 2016, the Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę Government entered existence, legally assuming all of the responsibilities formerly held by the Délı̨nę First Nation, the Délı̨nę Land Corporation, and the Charter Community of Délı̨nę.

The Final Self-Government Agreement is a Treaty within the meaning of ss. 25 and 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Through it, much of the Indian Act no longer applies to Délı̨nę's First Nations citizens. Merging a First Nations band government and a municipal government into a single authority, its structure is unique in the Northwest Territories.

Demographics

| title = Federal census population history of Déline | type = Canada | align = left | width = | state = | shading = | percentages = |1971|333 |1976|422 |1981|521 |1986|532 |1991|551 |1996|616 |2001|536 |2006|525 |2011|472 |2016|533 |2021|573 | footnote = | source = Statistics Canada

|align=none |cols=2 |title=Annual population estimates |1996|645 |1997|636 |1998|615 |1999|599 |2000|568 |2001|567 |2002|551 |2003|561 |2004|553 |2005|545 |2006|548 |2007|533 |2008|537 |2009|519 |2010|510 |2011|491 |2012|496 |2013|476 |2014|484 |2015|498 |2016|501 |2017|510 |footnote= Sources: NWT Bureau of Statistics (2001–2017)}}

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Déline had a population of 573 living in 190 of its 226 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 533. With a land area of 79.39 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

In the 2021 Census, there were 525 Indigenous people, including 495 First Nations, Sahtu Dene people speaking North Slavey, 10 Métis and 10 Inuk (Inuit).

Climate

Délı̨nę has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfc), with mild summers and severely cold winters. Precipitation is very low, but is somewhat higher in the summer than at other times of the year.

Gallery

|File:Deline Airport.jpg |alt1= |Déline Airport |File:Deline5.jpg |alt2= |Tipi |File:Deline6.jpg |alt3= |Deline

Notes

References

References

  1. {{cite cgndb. LCCQC. Délįnę. 12 October 2021
  2. {{MACANT. deline. Deline. 2013-01-21
  3. "Northwest Territories Official Community Names and Pronunciation Guide". Education, Culture and Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories.
  4. {{CFS
  5. "Deline − Statistical Profile (2006–2017)". NWT Bureau of Statistics.
  6. (17 September 2011). "Deline, NWT: The 'birthplace' of hockey?". Nunatsiaq News.
  7. [[Emile Petitot. Petitot, Emile]]. ''Travels Around Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes, 1862–1882.'' Toronto: The Champlain Society, 2005.
  8. [http://maisonneuve.org/article/2011/08/12/they-never-told-us-these-things/ They Never Told Us These Things]
  9. "7 Sep 1998, Page 54 – at Newspapers.com".
  10. "A Village of Widows".
  11. (5 March 2016). "Fuel tanker plunges through Deline, N.W.T., ice road". CBC News.
  12. (7 March 2016). "N.W.T. hopes to remove fuel from tanker stuck in ice near Deline quickly". CBC News.
  13. (8 March 2016). "Fuel load successfully drained from tanker stuck in ice near Deline, N.W.T.". CBC News.
  14. {{CRHP. 14385. Déline Fishery / Franklin's Fort National Historic Site of Canada. 4 October 2013
  15. "Indian and Northern Affairs Canada".
  16. "Deline Self-Government History".
  17. (June 1977). "1976 Census of Canada: Population – Geographic Distributions". [[Statistics Canada]].
  18. (May 1992). "1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order". [[Statistics Canada]].
  19. (September 1987). "1986 Census: Population – Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions". [[Statistics Canada]].
  20. (April 1992). "91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions – Population and Dwelling Counts". [[Statistics Canada]].
  21. (April 1997). "96 Census: A National Overview – Population and Dwelling Counts". [[Statistics Canada]].
  22. (15 August 2012). "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses – 100% Data (Northwest Territories)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  23. (20 August 2021). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  24. (25 July 2021). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Northwest Territories)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  25. (8 February 2017). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  26. [https://www.statsnwt.ca/population/population-estimates/commtotals_2001-2017.xlsx Population Estimates By Community] from the GNWT
  27. (2 August 2024). "Déline, Chartered community (CC) Northwest Territories [Census subdivision]". [[Statistics Canada]].
  28. (8 June 2023). "Déline, Chartered community [Census subdivision], Northwest Territories". Indigenous Population Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

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charter-communities-in-the-northwest-territoriescommunities-in-the-sahtu-regionmining-communities-in-the-northwest-territoriesdene-communitieshudson's-bay-company-forts1825-establishments-in-the-british-empireroad-inaccessible-communities-of-the-northwest-territories