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The Land
The Northwest Territories (NWT) lie north of the 60th parallel,
above Saskatchewan, Alberta, and eastern British Columbia, and
between the Yukon and Nunavut. These dimensions represent a recent
change. With the creation of Nunavut on April 1, 1999, the area of
the former Northwest Territories, which stretched from the Yukon
east to Baffin Island and included all of the Arctic archipelago,
was reduced by approximately two-thirds, from 3 426 320
km2 to 1 171 918 km2.
This is not the first time that the Northwest Territories has
undergone dramatic boundary changes. At one point or another
during the NWT's history, it has included all of Alberta,
Saskatchewan and the Yukon and most of Manitoba, Ontario and
Quebec.
Like the Yukon, the Northwest Territories can be divided into
two broad geographical regions: the taiga, a boreal forest belt
that circles the subarctic zone; and the tundra, a rocky Arctic
region where the cold climate has stunted vegetation. Remarkable
features include the Great Bear Lake, which at 31 328 km2
is the eighth largest in the world; the Great Slave Lake, the
tenth largest in the world at 28 568 km2; and the
Mackenzie River (Canada's longest), which flows 4 241
kilometres from the Great Slave Lake to the Beaufort Sea.
The History
The ancestors of the Dene Indian people lived along the
Mackenzie Valley in the NWT 10 000 years ago. The first Inuit
people are believed to have crossed the Bering Strait about 5 000
years ago, spreading east along the Arctic coast.
In 1789, Alexander Mackenzie discovered the Mackenzie River and
followed it to its mouth at the Arctic Ocean. Fur traders soon
established posts in the Mackenzie River basin. Late in the next
century, missions were founded in the area. The Europeans reshaped
the North, bringing with them a new economy and way of life.
Communities grew around trading posts, mission schools and Royal
Canadian Mounted Police stations.
In 1870, the British government transferred control of the
North-Western Territory to Canada. Ten years later, the British
government annexed the islands of the Arctic archipelago, which
also became part of the Territories. In 1905, both Alberta and
Saskatchewan were created from the Territories. Finally in 1912,
the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec were enlarged,
fixing the Northwest Territories with a size and shape that
remained unchanged until 1999, when Nunavut was established.
By the Second World War, mineral exploration and the military
were playing a role in northern development, prompting a more
active interest in the NWT by the rest of Canada.
Government and Politics
Although not a province, the NWT government has the same
general responsibilities as provincial governments: taxation,
municipal bodies, education, wildlife, health and hospital
services, forest management, housing, social services and economic
development. It lacks jurisdiction over land and resource
administration, including control over the pace and scale of
resource development and subsurface water rights.
The issue of settling Aboriginal land claims in the NWT emerged
in the 1970s. In 1984, a final agreement was reached with the
Inuvialuit of the western Arctic; it provided some 2 500
people with 91 000 km2 of land, financial compensation,
social development funding, hunting rights and a greater role in
wildlife management, conservation and environmental protection.
In 1992, the Gwich'in settled a comprehensive land claim that
provided 22 422 km2 of land in the northwest part
of the NWT and 1 554 km2 in the Yukon, subsurface
rights, a share in the resource royalties derived from the
Mackenzie River Valley, tax-free capital transfers, hunting
rights, a greater role in the management of wildlife, land and the
environment, and the right of first refusal on a variety of
activities related to wildlife.
The year 1993 saw the conclusion of the Nunavut land claims
agreement. It was the largest land claim ever settled in Canada.
The agreement gave the Inuit people control of more than 350 000
km2 of land (of which 36 000 km2
include mineral rights), more than $14 billion over 14 years, and
guaranteed participation in decisions on land and resource
management. In April 1999, according to the agreement, the former
Northwest Territories was divided, creating the new territory of
Nunavut.
The People
The present population of the NWT is over 42 000. Dene,
Inuvialuit and Métis peoples make up 48 percent, the
non-Aboriginal population about 52 percent. Most live in small
communities; Yellowknife, the capital, has a population of more
than 15 000.
The Economy
The economy relies heavily on resource industries subject to
wide fluctuations in world markets. Mining is by far the largest
private industrial sector of the NWT economy. Oil and gas
exploration and development are also important.
The Aboriginal peoples' traditional subsistence activities -
fishing, hunting and trapping - also have an impact on the NWT
economy. Sports fishing and big-game hunting play a small role as
well. Commercial fishery development in the NWT - freshwater and
saltwater - is being encouraged. Fur harvesting continues to be
very important, supplementing the income of many Aboriginal
families.
Recently, tourism has become increasingly important. The NWT
offers a variety of landscapes of great natural beauty, conducive
to fishing, wildlife observation and other outdoor activities.
The settling of northern land claims sets the stage for
increased economic activity in which all can share and have a
voice. However, development, which is welcome and necessary for
economic prosperity, will need to be managed so as not to threaten
the fragile Arctic ecosystem and the traditional lifestyles of the
northern peoples.
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