Grainy 1960s footage of a summer’s day in the Tłı̨chǫ community of Behchokǫ̀. A man carries a canoe on his shoulders. A dog on the shore watches a boy paddle a canoe. A small group of people swim and jump from rocks into the lake.
Whatì Trail
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The Whatì trail is part of the larger Įdaà Trail, which links Great Slave and Great Bear Lake.
The trail is a central route that intersects with countless secondary trails and provides access to over 250,000 square kilometres of hunting grounds.
The Whatı̀ Trail begins in Behchokǫ̀. It can take up to eight days to travel the 120 km from Behchokǫ̀ to Whatì by canoe.
Behchokǫ̀
Travelling through thousands of years of history
Behchokǫ̀ means "Big Knife" in the Tłı̨chǫ language. With a population of about 1,900, it is the largest settlement in the region, the Tłı̨chǫ capital and seat of the Tłı̨chǫ Government.
Behchokǫ̀ has a long history as a gathering place. In the days of the fur trade it was an outpost of the Hudson's Bay Company, known as Fort Rae. Hunters and their families would make the long journey from the outlying communities to visit the regions only trading post.
Here they exchanged the bounty of their annual hunt for supplies needed for the next season. Pelts of beaver and marten were traded for tea, sugar, tools and ammunition. It was a time for celebration and an opportunity to reconnect with the larger community before returning to their individual hunting routes.
Today Behchokǫ̀ is a vibrant community that regularly hosts events, meetings, hand game tournaments and other festivities that draw in travellers from across the territory.
In 1994, the Trails of Our Ancestors program was initiated to pass on this ancestral knowledge and traditional practices. The first group paddled the 15-day journey from Behchokǫ̀ to Gamèti and arrived to a huge celebration as the festivities of the Tłı̨chǫ Annual Assembly got underway.
The program allows Tłı̨chǫ youth to retrace the paths and experiences of these trails through the eyes of our Elders. The boat trips have always been considered to be part of a vision by the Dogrib people to become “Strong like two people.”
“Like an armada, the incoming flotilla of canoes from the ‘Trails of Our Ancestors’ is a vision of pride for the Tłı̨chǫ, almost like an apparition of the Ancestors themselves. With many anxious to take their turn, the canoe trips are like a rite of passage for every Tłı̨chǫ citizen, and revitalizes everyone concerned.”
John B. Zoe
The Tłı̨chǫ landscape is known intimately to Tłı̨chǫ Elders. Names and narratives convey sacred knowledge, and in this way Tłı̨chǫ culture is tied directly to the landscape. The main focus on these trips is for the Elders’ to share their stories at these significant places.
To preserve this knowledge the Trails of Our Ancestors program focuses on sharing the Elders’ stories at these locations and passing down Tłı̨chǫ culture to a new generation.
Behchokǫ̀ is the start of the Whatì Trail and all boats depart from Monfwhi eda (Monfwi’s point).
A 360-panoramic video of the members of the Trails of our Ancestors canoe trip getting ready to depart on their journey.
The first stop is Xaelı K'ogola (Marian Village), approximately 30 km away, a full day’s paddle from Behchokǫ̀.
The village is located at the mouth of the Xaelı (Marian River). Xaelı means Out-It-Flows in Tłı̨chǫ.
Drone fly-over footage of the small Tłı̨chǫ community of Marian Village on the northern shores of Marian Lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The community is made up of small cabins. A large white cross is visible on a rocky outcrop.
At Xaelı K'ogola (Marian Village) there is a view of Shiagu, a mountain on Murphy's Point in the distance.
Joe Mantla, one of the Elder advisers for the Trails of Our Ancestors program, was born and raised in Xaelı K'ogola (Marian Village). He built the two-storey cabin that stands prominently in the middle of the village.
Xaelı K'ogola (Marian Village)
A traditional gathering place
Xaelı K'ogola (Marian Village) was a thriving community at one time, where people would gather to celebrate with dances, handgames and handball.
Over time, residents moved to one of the more permanent communities in order to be closer to their children while they attended school.
People still come here on a seasonal basis to fish, hunt and gather plants. The area is known as an excellent harvesting area for muskrat and beaver.
There are at least 30 gravesites at this location. One of the graves has a plaque labelled Thomas Tami Rabesca (born July 22nd, 1886, died December 9th, 1961).
Many of the graves do not have anything written on them as they were buried a long time ago when people did not know how to read or write.
Locations and place names are almost always associated with stories which are said to reside with the place.
Elders often use the metaphor that the ‘land is like a book,’ in explaining this relationship, meaning that stories and places co-exist.
After spending the night, the canoes continue 16 km upriver to Dètaè?aa.
Dètaèɂaa is a traditional hunting and gathering area above Shotì Lake, between two rivers.
Drone fly-over footage of an abandoned cabin with a partially collapsed roof found in a clearing of lupine flowers and tall brush, under a cloudy blue sky just before sunset. The cabin looks as though it is ready to fall apart at any moment.
The Dètaèɂaa area has been frequented by travellers for centuries.
Hunters and their families used to gather here on their way to trade furs in Behchokǫ̀.
The surrounding area is marked by many gravesites.
There are several old cabins nearby, making this a popular spot to camp for the night.
There are many rapids and portages along the route.
Carrying the heavy canoes and supplies is both difficult and time consuming.
At Nàı̨lı̨ı̨hoteè, the canoes must come ashore to cover the longest portage on the route at the great waterfall of Nàı̨lı̨ı̨ (Whatì Falls).
Drone fly-over footage of the six-kilometer-long portage trail called Nàı̨lı̨ı̨hoteè that cuts through the conifer forest near the waterfall of Nàı̨lı̨ı̨.
The most difficult part of the journey is Nàı̨lı̨ı̨hoteè, a portage that climbs five kilometres over the falls. The portage trail is a worn footpath through thick spruce forest cover.
Before the arrival of airplanes, Whatı̀ people would spend weeks at this portage hauling large loads as this was the only way to bring goods and resources into the community.
The canoes used for Trails of Our Ancestors are two hundred pound boats. They are carried upside down on the shoulders of two people.
Under good conditions it takes about three and a half hours to cover the portage in one direction.
Larger groups of travellers used to gather at either end of the portage to rest before the difficult task.
Early 2000s video footage of the Trails of our Ancestors canoe trip portaging around Whatì Falls. (Transcript available.)
Carrying the boats and their cargo over Nàı̨lı̨ı̨hoteè was a community effort.
Local youth would eagerly await the sound of the boats, ready to help anyone that needed it.
Drone fly-over footage of the Marian River falling over the two mighty waterfalls that make up Nàı̨lı̨ı̨ (Whatì Falls). Mist rises from the frothy white water, with smaller streams of water pouring out of the rocky walls on each side of the river. The river carves a path in an S shape through the landscape beyond the falls.
The steep waterfall of Nàı̨lı̨ı̨ (Whatì Falls) drops 50 metres to the Lac La Martre River.
The falls are a significant sacred site, related to a story where many Tłı̨chǫ enemies met their death.
Today visitors throw offerings into the falls and wait to see if a rainbow is produced in the spray of the water.
Seeing a rainbow is a sign of good luck, while the absence of a rainbow is considered a bad omen.
Nàı̨lı̨ı̨ (Whatì Falls) is the last major obstacle on the way to Whatı̀.
The remaining journey to Whatì covers 30km and can be made in just one day.
Along the way, there are many reminders of the ancestors that travelled the route before us.
Drone fly-over footage of a Tłı̨chǫ gravesite. Three sunbleached, weathered fences known as cribs mark the location of three graves. They are located in clearing of dense brush, surrounded by tall, bare coniferous trees. The cribs are barely visible until the camera gets closer.
Tłı̨chǫ hunters and their families would follow the caribou herds in an annual cycle, using the river to travel.
When someone died they were buried on the spot and the hunters continued to move on.
Up until the 1960s, burials could happen anywhere and the landscape is dotted with gravesites, most of which are marked with white fences.
The practice of surrounding a burial site with a white picket fence originates with the appearance of Christian missionaries in the mid-1800s. Fences were seen as a way to contain the spirit of the recently deceased, as it was believed that they may linger at the site for days to weeks.
When located at trail junctions, graves can serve as a message post. In most instances, a tobacco tin is left in a nearby tree, inside will be messages and gifts for whoever arrives next.
The tradition when gravesites are encountered by travellers, is to clear overgrown or fallen vegetation, mend any broken fences, and a prayer is offered to the deceased as well as a small gift. Tobacco is most commonly left for Elders.
After the 1960s, government legislation introduced new controls on where graves could be established, limiting burials to only cemeteries that were under the control of municipal authorities.
Louis Wedawin, a Tłı̨chǫ Elder, talking about the many burial sites along the Whatì Trail. (Transcript available.)
For every white cross, there are many other final resting places that have been forgotten over time.
We have arrived at the end of our journey: Whatı̀.
Drone fly-over footage of the clear blue waters of Lac La Martre and the Tłı̨chǫ community of Whatì. Dirt roads connect houses and community buildings in this small town with a population around 500. The colorful buildings dot the town with no particular layout.
Whatı̀ sits on the southeast shores of Lac La Martre.
The word Whatı̀ in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì means ‘marten lakes’ named after the abundance of marten in the region.
Whatı̀
The end of the trail
Located 210 km northwest of the of Yellowknife, Whatı̀ has a population of roughly 500 people. Many in the community still practice the traditional Tłı̨chǫ lifestyle; hunting, fishing and practicing decorative arts.
The Tłı̨chǫ language is still widely spoken among the residents. Up until recently, Whatı̀ was only accessible by boat or air in the summer months, and by ice road for a short time in the winter.
In 2021 the Tłı̨chǫ Highway opened, making this small community accessible by road all year. The area is known for its scenic beauty, and excellent trapping and fishing.
The pre-contact history of Whatı̀ is one of conflict between the Tłı̨chǫ and the Chipweyan. When the North West Company established a trading post in the area, many residents began settling there permanently to hunt and fish in the area year round.
Whatı̀ marks the beginning and end of the Whatı̀ trail that connects the community to that of Behchokǫ̀.
A 360-panoramic video of the church in the Tłı̨chǫ community of Whati. The Roman Catholic church is located near the center of town and features a small graveyard.
A 360-panoramic video from inside a Tłı̨chǫ fish smoke house. Whatì is known for great fishing and is a popular activity that brings tourism to the area.