About the Deh Cho

HISTORY

THE FIRST PEOPLE

The vast lands encompassing the Deh Cho Travel route has been home to people for thousands of years.  The First Peoples probably wandered into northern British Columbia and the MacKenzie Valley after the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago.  The Fort Liard and Fort St. John areas contain some of the oldest archaelogical sites in North America.

During the last 2,500 years, the direct ancestors of today's Dene (pronounced DEN-ay and meaning "People") hunted throughout the boreal forests and river valleys.  Moving almost constantly, the Dene travelled by canoe, toboggan and snowshoes.  Caribou, moose, smaller animals and birds were hunted with bows, spears and snares.  Fish were caught using spears and nets.

Mountain Dene, South Slavey, Beaver, Chipewyan, Dogrib, Cree, Carrier and Sekani are some of the Dene peoples that inhabit communities along the route today.

CONNECTED BY RIVERS... THEN AND NOW

The Deh Cho Travel route is "big river" country, a mighty network of colossal waterways. Our highways lead you along the historical water routes of the early inhabitants and explorers.  Rivers were the main trade and transport routes for Aboriginal peoples and explorers including the fur traders in the 1700s, the gold seekers of the latter half of the 1800s, and the homesteading pioneers of the early 1900s.

Deh Cho ("big river") is the Dene name for the Mackenzie River.  Parts of the NWT Hwy #1 (Mackeznie Hwy) parallels the river along the northern portion of the route.  In 1789, Sir Alexander Mackenzie explored the Mackenzie River all the way to the Arctic Ocean and left his mark throughout the north.  There is Mackenzie history in most of the area covered by the Deh Cho Travel route.

In 1793 Sir Alexander Mackenzie travelled westerly up the Peace River to Hudson’s Hope and beyond in search of a passage to the Pacific Ocean.  For well over a century after, the 800 kilometres of navigable water served as the main “highway” for northwestern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia.

The history of river transportation and trade remains one of the main links between the communities along the Deh Cho Travel route.  Most of today’s commerce in the north is conducted by air, road and rail - but not all of it!  Tonnes of freight are still shipped “down north” on the Mackenzie River every summer from Hay River, Northwest Territories.  It’s a lingering reminder that roads are relative newcomers in Canada’s north!