 | |
 Tłı̨chǫtipis c. 1900. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,935[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Canada Northwest Territories | |
| Languages | |
| Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib), English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity,Animism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yellowknives,Chipewyan (Dënesųłiné),Sahtu |
| Tłı̨chǫ "dog-flank" | |
|---|---|
| Person | Tłı̨chǫ Done |
| People | Tłı̨chǫ Done Do |
| Language | Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì |
| Country | Tłı̨chǫ Ndé,Denendeh |
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TheTłı̨chǫ (Athapascan pronunciation:[tɬʰĩtʃʰõ],English:/təˈlɪtʃoʊ/tə-LIH-choh) people, sometimes spelledTlicho and also known as theDogrib, are aDeneFirst Nations people of theAthabaskan-speakingethnolinguistic group living in theNorthwest Territories of Canada.
The nameDogrib is an English adaptation of their own name,Tłı̨chǫ Done (orThlingchadinne) – “Dog-Flank People”, referring to their fabled descent from a supernatural dog-man. Like theirDene neighbours they called themselves often simplyDǫne ("person", "human") orDǫne Dǫ ("People, i.e. Dene People"). The Tłı̨chǫ's land is known asNdè (orDè,Dèe orNèe). On the 1682Franquelin map, Dogrib was recorded as "Alimousp[i]goiak" (fromCreeAlimospikayak, "Dog-Flanks").
The Tłı̨chǫ have six communities with a majority of Tłı̨chǫ residents:Behchokǫ̀ (formerly Rae-Edzo),Whatì (Lac la Martre),Gamèti (Rae Lakes), andWekweètì (Snare Lake), the four communities of the Tłı̨chǫ Government, andDettah (T'èɂehdaà) andNdilǫ, the communities of theYellowknives Dene First Nation.
TheTłı̨chǫ Yatıı̀ orDogrib language belongs to theAthabaskan languages, which are part of theNa-Dene languages family. The dialect spoken in the communities of Dettah and Ndilǫ developed from intermarriage betweenYellowknives and Tłı̨chǫ.
In June 1899, negotiation began onTreaty 8, which covered 840,000 km2 (320,000 sq mi) in the Northwest Territory. It was an agreement between the Canadian Government and the Dene groups in the area in question; in return for their willingness to share their land with non-Natives, the Dene would receive medical and educational assistance, as well as treaty payments. The Canadian Government and the various Dene groups, includingYellowknives and Tłı̨chǫ under chief Drygeese with headmen Benaiyah and Sek'eglinan, signed the treaty in 1900 atFort Resolution (called by the Tłı̨chǫĮndàà). After the signing, the group that signed the treaty was called the"Yellowknife B Band" (Helm, 7: 1994). At that point in history, Treaty No.8 was the largest land settlement the Canadian Government had ever made (PWNHC, Historical).[2]
Twenty years after Treaty No. 8 was signed, oil was discovered in theMackenzie River Valley. Upon the discovery, the Canadian Government proposed another treaty that would clear the way for miners and development of the area. The treaty was greatly debated, as the Natives did not want to lose their right to hunt, fish, gather, and trap in the area. They also opposed being "confined toIndian reserves." Many Dene felt that Treaty No. 8 was not honored by the Canadian Government, and some were afraid that this treaty would turn out similarly. Nevertheless,Treaty No. 11 was signed by the Tłı̨chǫ trading chief Monfwi in the summer of 1921. The Tłı̨chǫ groups that signed this treaty were then known as the"Dog Rib Rae Band" (Helm, 7: 1994), constituting the majority of the Tłı̨chǫ population. Both Treaty No. 8 and Treaty No. 11 overlap in several of their boundaries, and continue to cause conflict between the two separate treaty bands (nowadays two First Nations).
Not all members of the Dene and Tłı̨chǫ communities agreed with or signed these treaties. In the fall of 1992, the Tłı̨chǫ submitted their own regionalclaim to the Canadian government. Negotiations were scheduled to begin in 1994 between theYellowknife B Band (Treaty No. 8 Dogrib) and theDog Rib Rae Band (Treaty No. 11 Dogrib), but the Yellowknife B Band refused to enter into negotiations. This complicated matters, as both treaty groups had land boundaries that overlapped each other. Self-governance seemed to be the issue between the two groups, as both wanted to have their say in the agreement. This halted the negotiations in 1994 while the Canadian government explored the boundary and self-government issue. A new mandate in April 1997 allowed negotiation of a "joint land claims and self-government agreement with the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council" (Treaty No. 11 Dogrib). In 1999, the Agreement-in-Principle was available for Dogrib approval and was accepted on January 7, 2000. Ninety-three percent of the Dog Rib Rae Band (Treaty No. 11 Dogrib) turned out to vote with over 84% voting for the agreement. After several community discussions and revisions, in March 2003 the Chief Negotiators initialed the agreement.
The Yellowknife B Band (Treaty No. 8 Dogrib) formed theYellowknives Dene First Nation[3] in 1991 following the collapse of this territorial-wide comprehensive land claim negotiation. They currently negotiate aland claim settlement for their lands as part of the Akaitcho Land Claim Process[4] by theAkaitcho Territory Government. The Yellowknives Dene First Nation (known by themselves asWeledeh Yellowknives Dene)[5] is the umbrella organization for the Dettah Yellowknives Dene First Nation (orT'èɂehdaà – 'Burnt Point' in Tłı̨chǫ, referring to a traditional Dene fishing camp) and Ndilǫ Yellowknives Dene First Nation (/ˈdiːloʊ/DEE-loh). They speak the Dettah-Ndilǫ dialect of Tłı̨chǫ and are descendants of Tłı̨chǫ, Yellowknives andChipewyan.
The act of signing the agreement began the ratification process for the Tlicho Agreement. On Thursday, August 4, 2005, the Tlicho Agreement went into full effect, "The first official day of the Tlicho Government and the Tlicho community governments" (Tlicho Effective Date). On August 25, 2003, they signed aland claims agreement, also called Tłı̨chǫ, as theTłı̨chǫ Government, with theGovernment of Canada. The agreement will cede a 39,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi) area betweenGreat Bear Lake andGreat Slave Lake in the NWT to Tłı̨chǫ ownership. The territory includes the communities ofBehchokǫ̀,[6]Gamèti,[7]Wekweètì[8] andWhatì[9] along withDiavik Diamond Mine andEkati Diamond Mine. The four Tłı̨chǫ bands,Dog Rib Rae First Nation,Wha Ti First Nation,Gameti First Nation andDechi Laot'i First Nations, as well as their umbrella Dogrib Treaty 11 Council, ceased to exist on August 4, 2005, and have been succeeded by the Tlicho Government.
The Tłı̨chǫ have their own legislative bodies in the area's four communities, of which thechiefs must be Tłı̨chǫ, though anyone may run for councillor and vote. The legislatures will have, among other authorities, the power to collect taxes, levy resource royalties, which currently go to the federal government, and control hunting, fishing and industrial development.
The Tłı̨chǫ would also receive payments of $152 million over 15 years and annual payments of approximately $3.5 million.
The federal government retains control ofcriminal law, as it does across Canada, and the NWT controls services such as health care and education in partnership with the Tłı̨chǫ Nation through the Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency.
The land-claims process took twenty years to conclude. A similar process with theInuit in the NWT brought about the creation of the new territory ofNunavut. Though Tłı̨chǫnèk'e is not a separate territory, the extent of its powers has invited comparisons both with the birth of Nunavut and with the creation of the NWT government in 1967.
