[MUSIC] Prior to European contact, the Denésƍliné also known as Chipewyan Dene, were recognized to be the most widely traveled in a ppopulous of all northern Athabaskan language groups, with movement patterns that mirrored migrating barren-ground caribou herds. Despite their more settled lifestyle in recent years, many Denésƍliné people continue to hunt, trap, fish, and otherwise travel across large distances of their traditional territory in and around the east arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest territories. The Dene people refer to the Northwest Territory as Denendeh, the land of the people. The Lockhart River that flows from Artillery Lake, or edacho tué, into the east arm of Great Slave Lake have been the core of Denésƍliné territory for thousands of years, and these places are deeply intertwined with individual and community identity and spirituality. Oral history accounts and archaeological evidence show that people have been hunting for caribou at edacho tué since at least 3,000 BC. Many Denésƍliné stories are suggestive of Denésƍliné knowledge of the area dating back to post-glacial periods. [MUSIC] [FOREIGN] [MUSIC] Stories provide us with insights into the traditional knowledge that exists about Denésƍliné territory and the Denésƍliné understanding of events that occurred in the distant past. Well some dominant Western perspectives on the land may describe landscapes in purely physical terms, stories include spiritual, social, and living dimensions of landscapes. In addition to stories that teach about Denésƍliné worldview, contemporary observations continue to inform people's knowledge of the land. As with many northern communities, the cost of food in Lutsel K'e is exceptionally high. Because of expensive imported food and people's deep love for traditional country foods, the predominant components of diet in Lutsel K'e continue to be caribou, moose, fish, muskox, as well as berries and medicines harvested from the land. Since people continue to practice their traditional subsistence lifestyle, they continue to accumulate knowledge about the land. In the context of changing caribou populations, the Denésƍliné, among other Indigenous people in the north, have a vast amount of knowledge and wisdom to offer contemporary management efforts. Again, the inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge in the management of caribou populations in the Northwest territories and Nunavut is required through legislation and land claims agreements; however, there are many challenges that prevent the meaningful inclusion of community knowledge and perspectives in decision-making. Western science has often held that the forefront of how caribou population change is understood. It can be argued though, that the knowledge of hunters and elders follows a similar process as scientific study; many observations are made over time and are verified through a peer- review process in the community. Not just anyone's knowledge is taken at face value; only the most respected hunters and elders who are recognized to be knowledge holders in their communities are given the status to speak to these topics. [MUSIC]