Łutselk'e


Łutselkʼe, also spelt Łutsel Kʼe, is a "designated authority" in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on the south shore near the eastern end of Great Slave Lake and until 1 July 1992, it was known as Snowdrift, as the community lies near the mouth of the Snowdrift River.

History

Łutselkʼe is a First Nation community and the area was traditionally occupied by the Chipewyan Dene In 1925 the Hudson's Bay Company opened a post followed by the Roman Catholic Church. A school opened in 1960. There is a proposal ongoing for Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve, with an area of, which has the support of the community.

Demographics

Population is 303 according to the 2016 Census a decrease of 2.7% over the 2011 Census. In the 2016 Census the majority of the population, 270 people, were First Nations, 10 people were Métis and 10 were Inuit. The main languages in the community are Denesuline and English. In 2017 the Government of the Northwest Territories reported that the population was 330 with an average yearly growth rate of 0.0% from 2007.
In 2016, 115 people said they spoke an Indigenous languages as their mother tongue. Of these 115 people, 105 spoke Dene, 5 spoke Dogrib or Tłı̨chǫ and 5 spoke North Slavey or Hare. Another 5 people gave a Chinese language as their mother tongue. A total of 295 knew English and another 5 knew both English and French.

Services

There is a two-person Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment and health centre with two nurses in the community. There is a single grocery store, the Lutselk'e Co-op, a post office and nine lodges or outfitters in the area. Education in the community is provided by the Lutsel K'e Dene School, which offers a comprehensive K-12 program. Additionally, there is also a community learning centre run by Aurora College.
Although not accessible by road there is an airport, Lutselk'e Airport, with scheduled services from Yellowknife and an annual sealift is provided by the territorial government's ships from Hay River in the summer. Lutselk'e Water Aerodrome is available in the summer months when the lake is clear of ice.

First Nations

Łutsel Kʼe is represented by the Łutsël K'é Dene First Nation and are part of the Akaitcho Territory Government.