The Dene (which means "people"), also known as
the Athabascans, were the first people to live in the
Northwest Territories and
Alaska after the retreat of the great
ice sheets of the last
ice age. They lived in semi-
nomadic groups, following established routes in their hunting territories. They used dogs as
pack animals, but
dogsleds weren't used until after the coming of the
Europeans. There is evidence that the Dene could travel as far north as the
Arctic coast on
snowshoes.
Today, descendants of the Dene speak many different languages, all of which are members of the Athapaskan or Na Dene ("the language of the Dene") language group.
Some of the Dene tribes are:
The
Navajo and the
Apache are decendants of migrating Dene.