Our Cultures

The Dene have occupied the southern Northwest Territories time immemorial. They once travelled in small family groups on the land, moving east and north as the glaciers retreated. Today Dene families live in communities, but many still travel on the land, summer and winter.

Predecessors of the Inuvialuit and Inuit arrived about 4,000 years ago. A more recent migration moved from west to east across the Canadian Arctic about 1000 years ago. The Gwich'in are thought to have travelled here from the northwest coast, bringing trade goods.