Fort Smith, Northwest Territories
Fort Smith is a town in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. It is located in the southeastern portion of the Northwest Territories, on the Slave River and adjacent to the Alberta border along the 60th parallel north.
Fort Smith, Northwest Territories
Portage on the Slave River circa 1900
Boats landing at Mountain Portage on the Slave River circa 1900
Northern Trading Co. at Fort Smith
Chipewyan or Dënesųłinë́, often simply called Dëne, is the language spoken by the Chipewyan people of northwestern Canada. It is categorized as part of the Northern Athabaskan language family. It has nearly 12,000 speakers in Canada, mostly in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. It has official status only in the Northwest Territories, alongside 8 other aboriginal languages: Cree, Tlicho, Gwich'in, Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey and South Slavey.
Dënesųłinë́ sign at La Loche Airport
Welcome signs by the La Loche Airport
Close-up of Dënesųłinë́ and English sign