Visit
Hay River’s Dene Cultural
Centre
In a building designed with the
advice of Dene elders, and based
on the legends of Yamoria, a great
medicine man who brought teachings
and laws to the Dene people, the
Dene Cultural Institute (“Yamozha
Kue”) protects, promotes
and enhances the Dene language,
culture and spiritual beliefs.
Founded in 1986 during the first
Dene Cultural Conference, the
Institute began its operation
in Yellowknife, but was re-located
to the Hay River Reserve
("Katl’odeeche"),
on the south shore of Great Slave
Lake, in 1996.
Visitors to the Centre can
take part in demonstrations
of bannock-making, beadwork
and storytelling and view a
Dene arts and crafts display.
Guided tours of the Hay River
Reserve can be arranged with
advance notice.
The Institute conducts ongoing
cultural studies and research
projects; research reports and
publications are available for
sale at the Centre.
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Protecting
Dene Cultural Lands
The land known as Edéhzhie,
a plateau that rises out of the Mackenzie
Valley to the west of Great Slave Lake,
has long been a cultural and spiritual gathering
place and a traditional hunting ground of
the Dene. Since October of 2002, in an agreement
between the First Nations groups and the
Northwest Territories (sponsored by the
Canadian Wildlife Service), the 25,000 square
kilometre site has been protected from development
for a 5-year period.
The 600-metre-high plateau, the highest
point in the traditional Deh Cho territory,
stores large quantities of water in its
headwater lakes and muskeg. It also includes
key migratory bird habitats and waterfowl
staging areas, and supports a population
of woodland caribou. The Horn Plateau, part
of the Edéhzhie lands, is designated
as an International Biological Program Site
due to its extensive lichen development
over raised peat.
Under the terms of the “interim land
withdrawal,” part of the Northwest
Territories Protected Areas Strategy (PAS),
the government cannot sell or lease any
of the Edéhzhie lands for the next
5 years. No mining claims or oil and gas
rights will be issued for the designated
lands, although new leases can be issued
on areas where there are existing mineral
rights.
During the 5-year protection period, representatives
from Deh Cho First Nations, municipalities,
petroleum and mining industries, federal
and territorial government and conservation
groups will further evaluate the area’s
cultural, ecological and economic resources
in order to determine a permanent level
of protection for the Edéhzhie area.
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