The Dene people are an Indigenous First Nations group living in the northern boreal, subarctic, and Arctic regions of Canada. They speak Northern Athabaskan languages, and "Dene" means "people" in Athabaskan. The term "Dene" is most commonly used to describe the Athabaskan speakers of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, who make up the Dene Nation. This includes groups such as the Chipewyan (Denesuline), Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib), Yellowknives (T'atsaot'ine), Slavey (Deh Gah Got'ine or Deh Cho), Sahtu (Sahtúot’ine), and Gwichʼin (Dinjii Zhuh). However, "Dene" can also refer more broadly to all Northern Athabaskan speakers, who are spread across Alaska and northern Canada. The Dene homeland covers a vast area, including the Mackenzie Valley, extending west to Yukon, and reaching into British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alaska, and parts of the southwestern United States. The Dene were the first people to settle in what is now the Northwest Territories. Historically, they had ethnic conflicts with the Inuit in northern Canada, but in 1996, representatives from both groups participated in a healing ceremony at Bloody Falls to address and reconcile these old grievances. Behchokǫ̀, located in the Northwest Territories, is the largest Dene community in Canada.

Dene - Wikipedia