Deline, Northwest Territories
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Deline Délįne   Délįne
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| — Settlement Corporation — | |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Northwest Territories |
| Region | Sahtu Region |
| Constituency | Sahtu |
| Census division | Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories |
| Charter Community | 1 April 1993 |
| Government | |
| - Ehk'Wahtide | Raymond Tutcho |
| - Senior Administrative Officer | Ronald Mackeinzo |
| - MLA | Norman Yakeleya |
| Area | |
| - Land | 79.33 km² (30.6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 214 m (702 ft) |
| Population | |
| - Total | 525 |
| - Density | 6.6/km² (17.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| - Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| Canadian Postal code | X0E 0G0 |
| Area code(s) | 867 |
| Telephone exchange | 589 |
| Sources:Community Governance Data List[1], 2006 Canada Census[2], Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre[3], Délįne profile at the Legislative Assembly[4] Canada Flight Supplement[5] |
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The Charter Community of Délįne is located in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada on the western shore of Great Bear Lake and is 544 km (338 mi) northwest of Yellowknife.
The population as of the 2006 Census was 525,[2] mainly Sahtu Dene people speaking North Slavey.[6] Délįne means "where the waters flow", a reference to the headwaters of the Great Bear River, Sahtúdé.
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[edit] Pitchblende
The area became prominent when pitchblende was discovered at the Eldorado Mine, some 250 km (155 mi) 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. The village became a permanent settlement in 1952 with the building of a school.
The Dene from Délįne, who were conscripted as ore carriers, were not informed about the risks of radioactivity or how to protect themselves. Most of those men who participated began to die of cancer in the 1960s.
According to oral history, while canoeing on Great Bear Lake in the early part of the 20th century, a Délįne elder reached a precipice where he had a vision of a great city burning, of people who comported First Nations features enduring great suffering. According to tradition, this precipice is where uranium was later discovered.
[edit] John Franklin
The community was formerly called "Fort Franklin" and was the site of John Franklin's winter site during his second expedition. The community changed to the current name on 1 June 1993
[edit] Land claims
Délįne is represented by the Deline First Nation and belong to the Sahtu Dene Council.[7] Through the council they are in negotiations with the Government of Canada for a land claims settlement.
[edit] Polar bears
On 2 April 2008 three polar bears, a mother and two cubs, were seen in the community, which is 480 kilometres (300 mi) south of the Arctic Ocean. The bears, which were harassing dogs, and posed a danger to local people were shot by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police due to the lack of wildlife officers with tranquillisers. A biologist with the Government of the NWT took samples from the bears, which are marine mammals and usually remain near the ocean. The biologist stated that the animals were starving and that they were unable to take fat samples and their muscles were starting to break down. A biologist with the University of Alberta said that the unusual sighting was "...probably an indication of something changing broadly over an ecosystem,".[8][9]
[edit] References
- John Price, "Our own atomic victims," Victoria Times-Colonist
- ^ Community Governance Data List
- ^ a b 2006 Census
- ^ Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre - official names
- ^ Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Délįne profile
- ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 10 April 2008 to 0901Z 5 June 2008
- ^ 2001 Census
- ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
- ^ News/North online and print edition
- ^ Wandering polar bears a sign of climate change: expert
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Municipal Affairs and Community Administration profile
- Deline at the GNWT
- Welcome to Délįne
- Village of Widows
