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The federal government and GNWT are nominating the Mackenzie River to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System to recognize its ecological and cultural importance.
The GNWT now has three years to develop a stewardship plan in collaboration with Dene, Métis and Inuvialuit peoples and communities in the Dehcho, Sahtu and Beaufort Delta regions.
If the plan is approved, the Mackenzie River will join the 42 other rivers designated under the Canadian Heritage Rivers System, including the Nahʔą Dehé (South Nahanni River) and Tsiigehnjik (Arctic Red River).
The national river stewardship program was established in 1984 and is meant to recognize “rivers of outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational value” and promote care for them, the GNWT and federal government said in a Thursday news release.
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The river goes by many names (most meaning “big river” to reflect its sheer size and significance in the NWT):
- Kuukpak in Inuvialuktun;
- Nagwichoonjik in Gwich’in;
- Deho in Dene Kǝdǝ́ or North Slavey;
- Dehcho in Dene Zhatıé or South Slavey;
- la Grande Rivière in Michif; and
- Fleuve Mackenzie in French.
In Thursday’s news release, Fort Providence Métis Nation President Albert J Lafferty praised the nomination of la Grande Rivière and emphasized the river’s importance to the Métis people of Fort Providence through generations of travel, harvesting and shared knowledge.
