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#DeneMapping

UofA Map/GIS Librarian

@wyman10.bsky.social

Map a-day-in May (a thirty-one cabinet display)
Phoebe Nahanni A Slavey-Dene geographer & cartographer who played a central role in the Dene Nation mapping project
For more info/links: #cartobibliography tinyurl.com/34hn54c3
#PhoebeNahanni #CounterMapping #DeneMapping #MapDayMay25 #WCWMC

Map a-day-in May (a thirty-one cabinet display) Phoebe Nahanni
Phoebe Rose Nahanni was a Slavey-Dene geographer and cartographer. She played a central role in the Dene Nation mapping project, which constructed a map of how the Dene Nation actively used about 450,000 square miles of land. This information was one of the factors in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry's recommendation not to construct a pipeline through the Mackenzie River Valley. Nahanni was also active in the social scientific study of arctic and subarctic communities, and is thought to have been the first Slavey-Dene woman to hold a master's degree. To prepare for the Berger Commission, the Dene conducted a comprehensive study. Phoebe Nahanni, led a team of twenty Dene researchers. Their first decision was to manage the research process themselves, choosing not to rely on external white experts. Using hardcopy maps and audiotapes, they interviewed 546 individuals about their hunting, trapping, and other livelihood practices on the land. They then brought the maps back to the communities for re-verification, ensuring greater accuracy and broadening the collaboration for the overall project. During each of the Hearings, a Dene field worker presented the maps, documenting the historical and current land use in the respective community.
The evidence they provided to the Inquiry directly challenged the colonial narrative of terra nullius—the false belief that the land was uninhabited. As Nahanni stated: "The maps clearly demonstrate what we've always said before your legal institutions—that we've been here for countless generations; this is our land and our way of life. The proposed oil and gas pipeline routes and construction sites interfere with our land-based activities. The impacts of such intrusions not only disrupt our travel routes and trap lines but also harm the animals, fish, lakes, and environment that are integral to our way of life." (Phoebe Nahanni, 1977).

Map a-day-in May (a thirty-one cabinet display) Phoebe Nahanni
Map showing: Sahtu Dene and Metis Traditional Trail Network

Text around the map states: TRADITIONAL TRAVEL
The land itself is of particular importance in transmitting knowledge from one generation to the next. The Sahtu Dene and Métis landscape is known intimately to elders. Trails, used year-round, provide access to a vast harvesting region. The trails link thousands of place names, each with a story, sometimes many, bound to the place. Names and narratives convey knowledge, and in this way Sahtu Dene and Metis culture is tied directly to the landscape. The network of interconnecting trails provides access to a Sahtu land use area encompassing some 300,000 km.
This map shows patterns of land use derived through the Sahtu Dene and Métis trails mapping project. The trails may be water routes or land routes or both depending on the season, and many extend beyond the Sahtu boundary to connect with other major routes of the north. While cutlines and winter roads have opened up further travel routes within the Sahtu, some traditional routes are still used for travel to and from settlements, hunting grounds and camps.

When you put out these maps it brings back memories of long time ago. I remember one time we travelled to town walking, no dogs or skiddoo from Aubry Lake. We camped once. The next day we made it to the Hare Indian River. At that time there were no maps. There were people that were smart that made trail from Colville Lake to Fort Good Hope. (Anonymous, Dene Nation mapping project)

Source: Kershaw, R., & Auld, J. (2005). The Sahtu atlas. Sahtu GIS Project.

Map a-day-in May (a thirty-one cabinet display) Phoebe Nahanni
A map titled: Denendeh Trails of our Ancestors.
Map shows trails and is annotated with photo insets.

Map a-day-in May (a thirty-one cabinet display) Phoebe Nahanni
Caption reads:

ENDURANCE
"The stories I've picked up
From the older men are really,
really incredible.
This long trip up here was done
by Charles Yohin.
He travelled with three or four
families. They stayed at Rabbit Kettle.
They met sone people from Tulita who were travelling
through south Nahanni.
They were hunting or trapping for marten.
Rather than continuing on to Tulita
on their way to North Nahanni, back to Tulita
the men went back to Watson Lake with the families.
Charles Yohin said he spent about ten years in the whole area."
Phoebe Nahanni, Nahanni Butte, 1975

May 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM Everybody can reply

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