Délı̨nę

The Charter Community of Délı̨nę (pronounced "day-li-neh"; formerly Fort Franklin) is at the western shore of Great Bear Lake, northwest of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Many of the inhabitants rely on fishing and hunting as a way of life: there is excellent trout fishing on the lake.

Understand
In 1825, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) erected an outpost here as the staging area and winter quarters for Sir John Franklin's second Arctic expedition of 1825–1827. It became known as Fort Franklin. Sir John Franklin's diary records that his men played ice sports very similar to what we now call hockey. As such, the modern-day town promotes itself as one of the birthplaces of the sport of ice hockey.

Délı̨nę means "where the waters flow", a reference to the headwaters of the Great Bear River, Sahtúdé.

As of 2020, about 500 people live here. Deline is predominantly Roman Catholic. The local government considers North Slavey to be an official language of the community, but less than half of the population identifies the language as their mother tongue (as of 2011).


 * Tourist information: Destination Deline

Do
Grey Goose Lodge organizes cultural and sporting activities.

Buy
There is a gallery of locally made arts and crafts at the Grey Goose Lodge.



Eat, drink and sleep
There is limitation in the amount of alcohol you can transport into the community.

Connect
There is WiFi at Grey Goose Lodge.