24-671: Wekweètì ( / w ɛ k ˈ w eɪ t i / ; from the Dogrib language meaning "rock lakes"), officially the Tłı̨chǫ Community Government of Wekweètì is a community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories , Canada. Wekweètì is a Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib Dene ) aboriginal community and is located 195 km (121 mi) north of Yellowknife . It has no year-round road access but does have
48-623: A decrease in mother tongue speakers, hence placing it under the list of endangered languages. The Tłıchǫ region covers the northern shore of Great Slave Lake (Tıdeè), reaching up to Great Bear Lake (Sahtu). Behchokǫ̀, is the largest community in Tłıchǫ territory. According to the Endangered Languages Project , approximately 1,350 people speak the language while at home. Speakers are commonly fluent in English. Tłıchǫ Yatıì
72-415: A population of 109 living in 29 of its 55 total private dwellings, a change of -15.5% from its 2016 population of 129 . With a land area of 14.71 km (5.68 sq mi), it had a population density of 7.4/km (19.2/sq mi) in 2021. The majority of the population are First Nations and languages are Dogrib and English. Alexis Arrowmaker School is Wekweètì's Elementary/Junior School and
96-676: A radio station, and having community language classes in the language, now including immersion classes in grades K-7. In addition to local efforts, the Official Languages Act ensures that Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì and the other indigenous languages are used in providing government services. The language is mainly spoken in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The four official Tłıchǫ communities are Gamètì, Behchokǫ̀, Wekweètì and Whatì. Both communities of Yellowknife and Dettah also have many Tłıchǫ speakers, mostly speaking
120-659: A winter ice road connection; the majority of transportation to and from the community is through the Wekweètì Airport . Wekweètì is the closest community to the Ekati Diamond Mine on the border with Nunavut . Wekweètì is part of the Tlicho Government . The area is within the traditional territory of the Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib) First Nation and was a popular hunting camp prior to permanent settlement. In
144-399: Is a Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib Dene ) aboriginal community and is located 195 km (121 mi) north of Yellowknife . It has no year-round road access but does have a winter ice road connection; the majority of transportation to and from the community is through the Wekweètì Airport . Wekweètì is the closest community to the Ekati Diamond Mine on the border with Nunavut . Wekweètì is part of
168-405: Is an agglutinating , polysynthetic head-marking language , but many of its affixes combine into contractions more like fusional languages . The canonical word order of Tłıchǫ Yatıì is SOV . Tłıchǫ Yatıì words are modified primarily by prefixes , which is unusual for an SOV language (suffixes are expected). Like Spanish and Portuguese, Tłıchǫ Yatıì has two verbs similar to English 'be'. One
192-432: Is still recognized by the federal government for Indian Act enrollment. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Wekweètì had a population of 109 living in 29 of its 55 total private dwellings, a change of -15.5% from its 2016 population of 129 . With a land area of 14.71 km (5.68 sq mi), it had a population density of 7.4/km (19.2/sq mi) in 2021. The majority of
216-583: Is used for ways of being that are more dynamic or temporary; the other for more permanent and immutable properties. For example, nàzèe-dǫǫ̀ ts’ı̨ı̨lı̨ and nàzèe-dǫǫ̀ ats’ı̨ı̨t’e both mean 'we are hunters', but the first means that the speakers are currently hunters (for example, part of a hunting party), while the second implies that hunting is their regular profession. In addition to verbs and nouns, there are pronouns , clitics of various functions, demonstratives , numerals , postpositions , adverbs , and conjunctions in Tłıchǫ. The class of adjectives
240-407: Is very small, probably around two dozen words: most descriptive words are verbs rather than adjectives. Example words and phrases: Wekweeti Wekweètì ( / w ɛ k ˈ w eɪ t i / ; from the Dogrib language meaning "rock lakes"), officially the Tłı̨chǫ Community Government of Wekweètì is a community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories , Canada. Wekweètì
264-672: The Dogrib language , is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib people) First Nations of the Canadian Northwest Territories . According to Statistics Canada in 2011, there were 2,080 people who speak Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì. As of 2016, 1,735 people speak the language. Tłıchǫ Yatıì is spoken by the Tłıchǫ, a Dene First Nations people that reside in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Tłı̨chǫ lands lie east of Mackenzie River (Deh Cho) between Great Slave Lake (Tıdeè) and Great Bear Lake (Sahtu) in
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#1732792963345288-451: The Tlicho Government . The area is within the traditional territory of the Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib) First Nation and was a popular hunting camp prior to permanent settlement. In the 1960s, Dene elders around Behchokǫ̀ decided to return to the land and establish traditional camps in the bush. Wekweètì was established during this time, although in more recent years it too has become a modern community with essential services of its own. The community
312-420: The 1960s, Dene elders around Behchokǫ̀ decided to return to the land and establish traditional camps in the bush. Wekweètì was established during this time, although in more recent years it too has become a modern community with essential services of its own. The community was formerly known as Snare Lake until 1 November 1998; prior to 4 August 2005 the community name used the spelling Wekweti . Before 2005,
336-710: The Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat since 2014. This department is devoted to the revitalization of the official languages in the NWT and has policies that ensure the continued use and growth of Indigenous languages. According to the 2018 - 2019 Annual Report on Official Languages, multiple revitalization efforts have been made by the Tłı̨chǫ Government. Some of which include an Elder Evening Story Telling that occurs weekly, transcribing and translating materials into Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì for classes, setting up
360-420: The Northwest Territories. There are four primary communities that speak the language: Gamèti (formerly Rae Lakes), Behchokǫ̀ (formerly Rae-Edzo), Wekweètì (formerly Snare Lakes) and Whatì (formerly Lac La Martre). From a population number of about 800 during the mid-19th century to about 1,700 by the 1970s, the population has grown to about 2,080 as recorded by the 2011 Census. However, Tłıchǫ Yatıì has seen
384-585: The Tłıchǫ Government. Revitalization efforts include putting up signs in Tłıchǫ Yatıì, creating on the land programs, providing Tłıchǫ Yatıì classes for community members. Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì is one of the nine official Indigenous languages of the Northwest Territories (NWT) in Canada. Because of its official status, the NWT's department of Education, Culture, and Employment, has been monitoring the language through
408-667: The Wıı̀lıı̀deh Yatıı̀ dialect. The Yellowknives Dene speak a dialect of Tłı̨chǫ called Wıı̀lıı̀deh Yatıı̀. This dialect came into existence when speakers of Chipewyan began speaking Tłı̨chǫ after 1829 and incorporated some Chipewyan words and grammar. The consonants of Tłıchǫ Yatıì in the standard orthography are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets) : Tenuis stops may be lightly voiced. Aspirated stops may be fricated [Cˣʰ] before back vowels. The language uses long, short and nasal vowels, and distinguishes them in writing, along with low tone: Typologically , Tłıchǫ Yatıì
432-518: The community was unincorporated, and local governance was provided by a First Nations band government , Dechi Laot'i First Nations . Under the terms of the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement, most responsibilities of Dechi Laot'i have been transferred to a new Wekweètì Community Government. However, Dechi Laot'i is still recognized by the federal government for Indian Act enrollment. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Wekweètì had
456-468: The first step in revitalization efforts. In 2005, the Tłıchǫ signed the Tłıchǫ Agreement for Self-Governance. This allowed the Tłıchǫ people to prioritize the preservation of their language, culture and way of life. Since its implementation, the Tłıchǫ Government has been working hard to help younger generations of Tłıchǫ learn the language by declaring Tłıchǫ Yatıì as one of two official languages of
480-493: The late 19th century. The last of the residential schools closed in 1996. These schools contributed heavily to language shift away from Indigenous languages, including Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì, and towards English. In 1992, the first edition of the Tłıchǫ Yatıì Enįhtł’è - A Dogrib Dictionary was published which provided the Tłıchǫ people with a database of words and spelling. This sparked the interest of community members and became
504-477: The population are First Nations and languages are Dogrib and English. Alexis Arrowmaker School is Wekweètì's Elementary/Junior School and was rebuilt in 1994. The school is named after Alexis Arrowmaker, one of the signers of Treaty 11 . The community has a store, Hozila Naedik'e General Store, a ten-bed hotel/lodge, Wekweeti Hotel/Snare Lake Lodge, a health centre , a community learning centre but no Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment. Wekweeti has
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#1732792963345528-443: Was formerly known as Snare Lake until 1 November 1998; prior to 4 August 2005 the community name used the spelling Wekweti . Before 2005, the community was unincorporated, and local governance was provided by a First Nations band government , Dechi Laot'i First Nations . Under the terms of the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement, most responsibilities of Dechi Laot'i have been transferred to a new Wekweètì Community Government. However, Dechi Laot'i
552-557: Was rebuilt in 1994. The school is named after Alexis Arrowmaker, one of the signers of Treaty 11 . The community has a store, Hozila Naedik'e General Store, a ten-bed hotel/lodge, Wekweeti Hotel/Snare Lake Lodge, a health centre , a community learning centre but no Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment. Wekweeti has a subarctic climate ( Dfc ) with mild to warm summers with cool nights and long, severely cold winters. Dogrib language The Tlicho language , also known as Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì ( IPA: [tɬʰĩtʃʰõ jatʰîː] ) or
576-769: Was traditionally only an oral language. Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì was one of the many Indigenous Canadian languages affected by the Canadian Indian residential school system . Through the British North America Act of 1867 and the Indian Act of 1876, the Canadian Government formalised its unilateral control over Indigenous people and their lands. By the 1920s these schools became mandatory for all indigenous children to attend. Indigenous languages were not allowed to be spoken at these schools since
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