Deline

Community Name:         Deline
Former Name:               Fort Franklin (bear river)
Land Claim Area:           Sahtu
Electoral District:              Sahtu
Member of the Legislative Assembly:   Norman Yakeleya
Member of Parliament:    Dennis Bevington
Senator:                               Nick G. Sibbeston
Community Leader:          ?Ehk'Wahtide Raymond Tutcho 
                                   Charter Community of Deline
                                   General Delivery 
                                   Deline, NT  X0E 0G0
                                   Phone:  867-589-4800

Location: Deline is located on the north shore of Keith Arm on Great Bear Lake at 65'10'N latitude and 123'25'W longitude. The community is 544 km northwest of Yellowknife.

Population:  570 (2004 Census)

Languages:  North Slavey, English

Access:  The community has limited air service from Norman Wells. Winter road access to Tulit'a is available.

History:  Deline officially changed its name from Fort Franklin in 1993. Fort Franklin was named for Sir John Franklin who used the area as his base for exploration in the 1820s. During that time the Hudson Bay Company re-opened its store to supply Franklin's expeditions. It wasn't until the 1920s when pitchblende was discovered at Port Radium and oil at Norman Wells that the settlement began to take shape. Great Bear Lake and Great Bear River became important trade routes.

In the 1940s-1950s the Roman Catholic Mission, Federal Day School and Hudson Bay Company post marked a flurry of construction and the development of a semi-permanent settlement.

Now a year-round settlement Deline is committed to preserving the traditional lifestyle. The economy is based on hunting, trapping and fishing. Tourism, oil and gas services, local services and arts and crafts provide a wage economy.