Northwest Territories First Nations

Casinos
Play the First Nations casinos, bingo halls, and gaming facilities.

Events
Visit NWT powwows, festivals, concerts, rodeos, and other celebrations.

Places to Visit
Enjoy NWT's cultural and heritage centers, museums, historical sites, archaeology sites, libraries, national parks and monuments.

First Nations
Contact information for the First Nations and Bands of NWT.

The ancestors of the Dene Indian people lived along the Mackenzie Valley in the NWT 10 000 years ago. The first Inuit people are believed to have crossed the Bering Strait about 5 000 years ago, spreading east along the Arctic coast.

Although not a province, the NWT government has the same general responsibilities as provincial governments: taxation, municipal bodies, education, wildlife, health and hospital services, forest management, housing, social services and economic development.

The present population of the NWT is over 42 000. Dene, Inuvialuit and Metis peoples make up 48 percent, the non-Aboriginal population about 52 percent. Most live in small communities; Yellowknife, the capital, has a population of more than 15 000.