Wekweeti

Wekweètì
First Nation
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Coordinates: 64°11′25″N 114°10′58″W / 64.19028°N 114.18278°W / 64.19028; -114.18278Coordinates: 64°11′25″N 114°10′58″W / 64.19028°N 114.18278°W / 64.19028; -114.18278
Country	Canada
Territory	Northwest Territories
Region	North Slave Region
Constituency	Monfwi
Census division	Region 3
Permanent community	1962
Incorporated	4 August 2005
Government
• Chief	Charlie Football
• Community Officer	Memory Murefu
• MLA	Jackson Lafferty
Area[1]
• Land	14.70 km2 (5.68 sq mi)
Elevation	368 m (1,207 ft)
Population (2016)[1]
• Total	129
• Density	8.8/km2 (23/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Canadian Postal code	X0E 1W0
Area code(s)	867
Telephone exchange	713
- Food price index	144.8A
Sources: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,[2] Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,[3] Canada Flight Supplement[4] ^A 2015 figure based on Yellowknife = 100[5]

Wekweètì (from the Dogrib language meaning "rock lakes"), officially the Tlicho Community Government of Wekweètì^[6] 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 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.^[7]

History

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 was formerly known as Snare Lake until 1 November 1998; prior to 4 August 2005 the community name used the spelling Wekweti.

Demographics

The population was 129 according to the 2016 Census an decrease of 8.5% over the 2011 Census of 141. The majority of the population are First Nations and languages are Dogrib and English.^[1] In 2017 the Government of the Northwest Territories reported that the population was 136 with an average yearly growth rate of -0.4% from 2007.^[5]

Services

Alexis Arrowmaker School is Wekweètì's Elementary/Junior School and was rebuilt in 1994.^[9] The school is named after Alexis Arrowmaker, one of the signers of Treaty 11. The community has a store, Hozila Naedik'e General Store,^[10] a ten-bed hotel/lodge, Wekweeti Hotel/Snare Lake Lodge,^[11] a health centre0, a community learning centre but no RCMP detachment.^[12]

See also

• List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories

References

Further reading