SAHTU COMMUNITIES

Colville Lake Dene – Deline Dene – Fort Good Hope Dene – Fort Good Hope Metis – Norman Wells Metis – Tulit’a Dene – Fort Norman Metis

The Sahtu region encompasses five communities in NWT. The region borders the Yukon Territory on its western side, Inuvik to the north, the North Slave Region on the east and Tlicho to the south.

Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement

On July 1993, the Sahtu Dene and Métis voted to approve the Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement.  After being approved by the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Agreement was signed on September 6, 1993, in Tulita.  The Sahtu Dene and Métis Land Claim Settlement Act came into effect on June 23, 1994.
Under the Agreement, the Sahtu Dene and Métis received title to 41,437 square kilometres of land in the Northwest Territories (NWT), an area slightly larger than Vancouver Island.  Included in that total, the Sahtu also own 1,813 square kilometres of subsurface, including mines and minerals that may be found to exist within, upon or under such lands.

The Sahtu have the right to harvest all species of wildlife and the exclusive right to harvest fur bearers throughout the Sahtu Settlement Area. The Sahtu have guaranteed participation on institutions of public government responsible for renewable resource management, land use planning, and land and water use within the Settlement Area, as well as environmental impact assessment and review within the Mackenzie Valley.

The Sahtu received $130 million in tax-free capital transfers over a fifteen year period. The Sahtu also receive an annual share of resource royalties collected by the Government of Canada from resource development in the Mackenzie Valley.

The Agreement also provides for the negotiation of self-government agreements that will be brought into effect through federal and/or territorial legislation.

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The Sahtu communities are Fort Good Hope Dene – Fort Good Hope Metis -, Norman Wells Metis – Tulita Dene – Fort Norman Metis – Délįnę Dene – Colville Lake Dene