Wekweètì’s new store opens in time for annual gathering

Wekweètì’s senior administrator says a “nice, bright” new store finally opened just in time for the community to host the 20th Tłı̨chǫ Annual Gathering last week.

A plan to create a new store was announced at the 2022 gathering in Whatì.

The Tłı̨chǫ Investment Corporation had a June 30 deadline to complete the project, which required two trailers being brought into Wekweètì via winter road.

Not everything made it during the recent winter road season, which was one of the community’s shortest on record.

Senior administrator Fred Behrens said at least two housing trailers are still in Edzo, and are now expected to arrive next year.

But the store made it and the shelves are still being gradually stocked.

“It’s a bit bigger than the previous store, of course. There’s a lot more shelving to be filled,” said Behrens.

“It’s got a lot more display cabinets and open glass freezers and coolers, whereas the other one was the standup freezer that basically you could have in your house.

“You’d always have to open up the freezer or cooler to see what was there.”

Reflecting on last summer’s wildfires, Behrens said Wekweètì faced challenges when Yellowknife’s evacuation meant the community could not receive mail or groceries by air.

“We definitely did have problems back in August and early September, when basically the territorial government forgets that there’s other communities besides Yellowknife that need to be serviced. That’s what happens,” he said.

“But now hopefully we aren’t going to be going through any type of evacuations, and hopefully lessons have been learned in Yellowknife that they do have to look after the communities outside of Yellowknife as well.”

Behrens said what’s available in the new store will be dictated in many ways by the money available to bring in stock, adding the rising cost of basic essentials – and even flights – might not allow the store to buy in exactly what residents want.

“Today going into the store, you wouldn’t even know that there was any stock. The shelves are pretty bare,” he said, with more flights expected to help fill the store in the coming days.

“But then we’ve had 300 extra people in town too,” he added, referring to the annual gathering. Wekweètì normally has a population of just over 120.

The Tłı̨chǫ Investment Corporation is yet to decide on the fate of the old store, which is temporarily acting as a storage unit.

Behrens said that building was previously a daycare and a youth centre before becoming the old store.

“It has lived many lives before it became the store,” he said. “It’s time to retire it.”