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You are here: Home1 / River Basins2 / Mackenzie3 / Great Slave Lake

The Great Slave Lake

The name ‘Great Slave’ came from the Slavey Indians, one of the Athapaskan tribes living on its southern shores at that time.

Quick Facts

  • Drainage Area: Tenth largest lake in the world, 469 km long, 203 km wide, area” 27,200 km2 Catchment area: 971,000 km2.
  • Human Population: Łutselk’e = 350 people. Yellowknife, Hay River, Behchokǫ̀, Fort Resolution, Łutselk’e, Hay River Reserve, Dettah, Ndilǫ = ~ 26472.
  • Jurisdictions: Northwest Territories. Slavey, Dene, Cree, Dettah, Łutselk’e, and Fort Resolution.
  • Ecology: Boreal Forest and Tundra. Canadian Shield. Arctic ecology. Trout is likely the most important fish. Fisheries, land mammals, birds.
  • Development:
    • Strained commercial fish stocks (some recovered).
    • Pollution from Mining (arsenic tailings spills).
    • Mining.
    • W.A.C. Bennett Dam.
    • Climate Change.

Community Research Projects

  • Graduate Student: Sydney Stenekes – Dehcho Region (Great Slave Lake): Culturally Driven Freshwater and Fish Monitoring: Opportunities for Social Learning in the Dehcho Region. (2019).
  • “Guiding Water Protection Through Traditional Knowledge” – Akaitcho Territorial Government.
  • Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation Tracking Change in the Great Slave Basin Project
  • “Retracing Our Routes” – 8 Day canoe trip – Lauren King.
  • Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation Tracking Change in the Great Slave Basin Project – Ray Griffith.
  • Past Knowledge for Future Protection – Annie Boucher.

Learning From The Land

“This was our land. This was our livelihood, and they destroyed everything we had. They destroyed our water. They destroyed the air. They destroyed the bush. Like they cut all the trees down and chased all the animals away. You know?” (FMkFNIRC 2008: 32)

“When the oil sands plants opened it was good for jobs but it ruined our country. We won’t have fish or berries to eat. The animals will be unfit to eat and we won’t be able to drink the water. Our lifestyle will be different…” (Emma Faichney in FMkFN 1994: 81)

Related Publications

  • Great Slave Lake
    View

FMkFN—Fort McKay First Nation (1994) There is Still Survival out There: A Traditional Land use and Occupancy Study of the Fort Mckay First Nation. Calgary: Arctic Institute of North America

FMkFN-IRC – Fort McKay First Nation – Industry Relations Committee (2008a), Fort McKay First Nation. Traditional Knowledge Report. Parsons Lake Resources Park. Environmental Assessment Report. Calgary: FMA Heritage Resources Consultants Inc.

Quinn, F. (1991). As long as the rivers run: The impacts of corporate water development on Native communities in Canada. Canadian Journal of Native Studies

Co-Investigators

Link to: Brenda Parlee
Brenda Parlee

Brenda Parlee

Princpal Investigator, University of Alberta
Tracking Change
Link to: Arn Keeling
Arn Keeling

Arn Keeling

Memorial University of Newfoundland
Tracking Change

Link to: Bruno Wichmann
Bruno Wichmann

Bruno Wichmann

University of Alberta
Tracking Change
Link to: Dave Natcher
Dave Natcher

Dave Natcher

University of Saskatchewan
Tracking Change
Link to: Henry Huntington
Henry Huntington

Henry Huntington

Huntington Consulting
Tracking Change
Link to: Herman Michell
Herman Michell

Herman Michell

Prince Albert Grand Council
Tracking Change
Link to: Jennifer Fresque-Baxter
Jennifer Fresque-Baxter

Jennifer Fresque-Baxter

Government of Northwest Territories
Tracking Change
Link to: Mark Nuttall
Mark Nuttall

Mark Nuttall

University of Alberta
Tracking Change
Link to: Shalene Jobin
Shalene Jobin

Shalene Jobin

University of Alberta
Tracking Change
Link to: Sonia Wesche
Sonia Wesche

Sonia Wesche

University of Ottawa
Tracking Change
Link to: Trevor Lantz
Trevor Lantz
mailto:tlantz@uvic.ca

Trevor Lantz

University Of Victoria
Tracking Change
Val Napoleon

Val Napoleon

University of Victoria
Tracking Change

Master Students

Link to: Laura Gaitan
Laura Gaitan

Laura Gaitan

Memorial University of Newfoundland

M.A. Candidate, Geography

Tracking Change
Link to: Laura Gaitan

Related Publications

Local and Traditional Knowledge in the Lower Mackenzie Watershed

  • MACKENZIE BASIN
    • Athabasca River
    • Great Bear Lake
    • Great Slave Lake
    • Hay River
    • Liard River
    • Peace River
    • Peel River
  • AMAZON BASIN
  • MEKONG BASIN

ABOUT TRACKING CHANGE

We build and share knowledge about the sustainability of three of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems: The Mackenzie River Basin, The Mekong River Basin, and The Amazon River Basin.

Contact Information

University of Alberta
Tracking Change Project Office
566 General Services Building
Edmonton, AB Canada
T6G 2H1

info@trackingchange.ca

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