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E. The Dene People
From HCO Jr
| Part 1. First People of Canada → A. Turtle Island → B. The Wendat → C. The Siksika → D. The Haida → E. The Dene → F. The Inuit → G. The Cree → H. The Ojibwa → I. The Mi'kmaq |
| Dene - Gallery | Stories & Texts | Web Links | Vocab | Student Activities | Class Projects |
Contents |
The Dene people live in the great boreal forest and tundra regions of northern Canada where they once lived in skin-covered tents, log huts or sod/log cabins.
Their name comes from two words in the Slavey language - "De" meaning flow and "Ne" meaning Mother Earth, meaning "flowing from Mother Earth".
- The Chipewyan: Around Great Slave Lake (Snowdrift, Taltson and upper Thelon rivers. Northeast Alberta and Northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Includes the Yellowknife, named for their copper knives.
- The Dogrib: Between Great Slave and Great Bear lakes.
- The Gwitch'in: Northern Yukon, Mackenzie Delta, Alaska and western NWT. Their language is also known as Loucheux, Kutchin and Tukudh.
- The Sahtu Dene - Southwest NWT, Mackenzie and Bear rivers. The Locheux (Hareskin) located downstream in the north Mackenzie Mountains and the watersheds of the Arctic Red and Travaillant rivers north to the Mackenzie Delta.
- The Slavey - Live on the Mackenzie or Dehcho (Big) River. South and west of Great Slave Lake. The Slave River to Liard River and north to Fort Norman.
Environment of the Dene
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The Dene live in a very cold part of Canada. It is called the Taiga Plains and the Canadian Shield. Summers are very short. In the summer time the average temperature is only 11ºC.
Winters are very long and cold. The Dene see very little sunlight during the winter because they live so far north.
Many different species of trees can be found in Dene territory. Most of the trees are coniferous because of the cold temperatures. Birch and poplar trees are the only deciduous trees that grow this far north.
Many different animals live in this region. Very large animals exist in the north: caribou, moose, grizzly and black bears. Many smaller animals live in the region such as wolves, foxes, lynx, muskrats and mink. Many species of fish live in the cold rivers and lakes of the north. During the spring many species of ducks and geese fly north to lay eggs and raise their young. Before winter approaches they fly south to warmer regions.
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Dene Life & the Four Seasons
Much of Dene life revolved around the caribou. This animal was almost as important to the Dene as the buffalo was to the Siksika.
Spring
During the spring the caribou migrated onto the barren grounds (or tundra). Dene people followed them. They ambushed caribou herds as the moved out of the forests and onto the open ground.
Summer
Dene people remained on the tundra during the summer hunting caribou.
Autumn
Large caribou hunts in the autumn supplied the Dene with enough meat to survive the winter.
Winter
Caribou migrated back into the forest during the winter. Dene people followed them. It is warmer in the forest during the winter. There is also wood for fuel, and different animals to hunt and trap in addition to the caribou.
Dene Society
Technology
Dene made everything from the resources in the forest and from animals. They made birch bark canoes just as other First Nations did. Since the Dene migrated so much during the year these canoes were useful. They were lightweight and very durable.
When they traveled with a lot of people and things they built larger boats. Dene men made these boats. They stretched soaked moose skins over spruce frames.
Caribou provided the Dene with material to make many different things. Caribou hides provided both clothing and covers for their shelters. One suit of clothing required 8 to 11 caribou hides.
Dene people made tools out of caribou bones and antlers. Caribou sinew provided sewing thread. If a lot of sinew was wound together it became rope. Tools were also made from stone. Scrapers to clean animal hides and knives to cut meat came from stone. Hunters made arrow and spear heads from stone.
Only certain types of stone could be used. At an area called Blood Rock in the Northwest Territories archaeologists found a quarry with the help of Dene elders. Elders told the archaeologists the area is called Blood Rock because of the colour of the stones in that area. Dene people used the stone there for thousands of years to make tools.
Some tools were made from copper. Near the Coppermine River was a group called the Yellowknife by fur traders. They had a copper mine and turned the metal into knives and other trade goods.
Dene Villages
During a large caribou hunt hundreds of people would live together for a short time. One fur trader in the 1700s traveled with the Dene. He saw one village in the summer that had 600 people living in it. Dene also gathered in larger groups to fish. This allowed the people to catch more fish. They would share their food with everyone in the group.
Dene houses were not permanent. They traveled all year. Dene needed homes they could put together and take down easily. Dene made teepees. In the winter they used more pole to make their teepees. Between the poles they pushed in moss to keep out the winter wind. During the summer the Dene often lived in lean-tos.
Clans and Families
Dene lived in extended families. Several families lived together in the winter. These families were related to each other. Some men had more than one wife, but this did not happen very often. They did this only if they could provide enough food for their wives and all their children.
Dene Food
Sources of Food
Dene relied on the caribou for most of their food. Some people starved in the winter if they did not hunt enough caribou in the autumn. Caribou meat was turned into pemmican and stored for the winter.
They did hunt other animals. Dene hunted musk-oxen when they were on the tundra. They also trapped rabbits and other small animals. In the forest they hunted moose and bears. Fishing provided the Dene with food as well.
The Dene also gathered berries, a plant called Labrador tea, wild roses, and fireweed as food.
Hunting and Fishing
Caribou migrate in the autumn and sprng. They follow the same route every year. This allowed the Dene to develop different ways to hunt the caribou.
During the spring, when the caribou migrated on to the tundra, the Dene built enclosures. They piled small trees to guide some caribou in to a small area. Once in that area the caribou were trapped by trees and piles of brush. Men used spears to kill the trapped caribou.
When the caribou were on the tundra the Dene used different methods to hunt. Bows and arrows were important tools. Hunters also used canoes. They waited in a river the caribou had to cross. As the caribou crossed the river the hunters killed them with spears. Caribou could not cross a river quickly so it was easier to hunt them in the water.
If there were not very many caribou, or if the Dene had bad hunts, they fished. They used nets, spears and fishing hooks.
They also hunted migratory ducks and geese, as well as local ptarmigan, snowshoe hare, moose, beaver, muskrat and fish.
Clothing
Dene women made all of the clothing. They used caribou or moose hides to make leggings, jackets, shoes, belts and many other things. After a hunt the women would remove the hide. They stretched the hide on a frame and cleaned off all the meat that was on the inside of the hide. They stretched the hide to keep it from shrinking. If they did not it would dry and get wrinkled.
Dene wore shirts and leggings in the summer. This kept them warm. It also kept mosquitoes off them as well. Their leggings came down over their boots. This kept mosquitoes from crawling up inside their leggings and biting them.
Women decorated summer clothes with dyed porcupine quills or moose hair. Different plants provided women with colours when ground up. They dyed the porcupine quills with these colours. Women sewed the quills and moose hair into different designs and patterns. Everyday clothes were somewhat plain, but women created beautiful and complicated patterns for ceremonial clothes.
Winter clothes had to be very warm. Women made entire suits (including hoods) from rabbit fur. Rabbit fur is too fragile to stretch and dry. Instead women cleaned the fur. Then they twisted it together into heavy cords. These cords were sewed together until they made a jacket, hood, leggings and mittens. It took many rabbits to make winter clothes.
Small babies did not wear clothes. Instead mothers made bags from caribou hide and fur. Babies sat in the bags all the way to their heads. A small opening was around their face so they could breathe. In the winter mothers wrapped their baby in rabbit fur before putting them in the bag.
Travel
Dene people traveled a great deal. Often they walked long distances. During the spring, summer and autumn they used small canoes if they were on a lake or river. During the winter they traveled on snowshoes. They also had tobaggans to carry their food and belongings. Dene people also used dogs to carry things or pull tobaggans. When fur traders arrived they started using dog sleds like the Inuit of the arctic.
Dene Religion
Dene people believed that the world was full of different spirits. Like many other First Nations, young boys went on vision quests to find a guardian spirit. When they found their spirit they could pray to it if they needed help.
Dene believed that all illness and death was caused by magic. If someone was sick a shaman performed ceremonies to make them well. When someone died the Dene believed that otter and loon spirits helped that person cross a great lake. On the other side of the lake they began a new life in a different world.
Dene Government
Dene people did not have leaders that people had to obey. A person became a leader because he was good at something. For example, during a large caribou hunt the other hunters listened to the men who were good leaders. Women listened to other women who were very good at preparing animal hides or making clothes. A person remained a leader as long as other people respected them.
Living this far north was very difficult. This meant that all of the adults in a family or band had to work together to survive. Everyone was important to the Dene because everyone contributed something to the family.
| Dene - Gallery | Stories & Texts | Web Links | Vocab | Student Activities | Class Projects |
| Part 1. First People of Canada → A. Turtle Island → B. The Wendat → C. The Siksika → D. The Haida → E. The Dene → F. The Inuit → G. The Cree → H. The Ojibwa → I. The Mi'kmaq |
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