Dene

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In Northumbrian a dene means a steep-sided valley. For the electoral ward in the United Kingdom, see Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Dene are a group of First Nations that live in the Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages (Northwestern Canada group) of the Na-Dené language family. They were the first people to settle in what is now the Northwest Territories.

The Dene include five main groups:

Chipewyan (Denesuline), living east of Great Slave Lake;
Tli Cho (Dogrib), living between Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes;
Yellowknives (T'atsaot'ine), formerly living north of Great Slave Lake, and now absorbed into the Chipewyan;
Slavey (Deh Gah Got'ine), living along the Mackenzie River (Deh Cho) southwest of Great Slave Lake;
Sahtu (Sahtu' T'ine), including the Locheux, Nahanni, and Bear Lake peoples, in the southwestern NWT.

Well-known Dene include Ethel Blondin-Andrew, former MP for Western Arctic (the federal riding that comprises the Northwest Territories). The Canadian television series North of 60 took place among a Dene community.

In 2005 elders from the Dene People decided to join the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) seeking recognition for their ancestral cultural and land rights.

Behchoko, Northwest Territories is the largest Dene community in Canada.