Sahtu Region
Administrative region
Norman Range and Kelly Lake
Location within theNorthwest Territories
Country	Canada
Territory	Northwest Territories
Territorial riding	Sahtu
Settlement area	Sahtu
Regional office[1]	Norman Wells
Area
• Total	283,171 km2 (109,333 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	2,259
• Rank	4th NWT
• Density	0.007978/km2 (0.02066/sq mi)
• % change (from 2016)	−7.7
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (DST)

Norman Wells

Fort Good Hope

Tulita

Délı̨nę

Colville Lake

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North Slave Region communities in the Northwest Territories

TheSahtu Region is anadministrative region in Canada'sNorthwest Territories. Coterminous with the settlement region described in the 1993Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, 41,437 km² (15,999 sq mi) of the Sahtu is collectively owned by its IndigenousSahtu (Dene) andMétis inhabitants. Although the region's population is predominantlyFirst Nations, a significant non-Indigenous presence exists inNorman Wells, the regional office,^[1] established in 1920 to serve the only producing oilfield in the Canadian Territories. Considered to be of vital strategic importance duringWorld War II in the event of a Japanese invasion of Alaska, the region's petroleum resources were exploited by the United States Army with theCanol Project, but the pipeline never became necessary and ultimately operated for less than one year.

Since the abandonment of the Canol project, development within the region has been more limited than in the rest of the territory. Although plans have long existed for pipelines and highways to parallel theMackenzie River through the Sahtu en route to theArctic Ocean, the landmarkMackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry recommended that a moratorium be placed on construction until localIndigenous land claims could be settled. To this day, no all-weather roads connect the Sahtu with the rest of Canada, and the contiguous North American pipeline network finds its northernmost terminus at Norman Wells, which was connected toZama City,Alberta in 1984. Ground transportation is seasonally provided by a network ofwinter andice roads, while the abandoned Canol route now forms part of theTrans Canada Trail system.^[4]

Sahtú is theDene name ofGreat Bear Lake, the largestlake entirely in Canada, which is entirely contained within the Sahtu Region. The name is also used by the area's First Nations inhabitants to describe themselves and their language, the Sahtú Dene people (historically known as the North Slavey or Hareskins).^[5] It has been further adopted by theSahtu Dene Council and the Sahtu Secretariat, both Indigenous institutions which share administrative responsibilities with theGovernment of the Northwest Territories within the region.

The Sahtu Region consists of five communities, with no permanent population recorded outside their boundaries. Norman Wells, the regional capital, was founded in the early 20th century in order to exploit local oil deposits and has a majority non-Indigenous population. The other communities of the Sahtu are predominantlyFirst Nations.

• Sahtu Region at Municipal and Community Affairs

65°16′52″N126°49′53″W / 65.28111°N 126.83139°W /65.28111; -126.83139 (Sahtu Region centred on Norman Wells)

• Sahtu Region
• Regions of the Northwest Territories

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