Dettah

Dettah,^{[pronunciation?]} sometimes spelled incorrectly as Detah,^[7] is a First Nations^[8] community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Located just southeast of the capital of Yellowknife, it is a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) drive from that city by ice road across the north arm of Great Slave Lake in winter or a 27 km (17 mi) drive via the Ingraham Trail, year-round. The name T'é?ehdaá means 'Burnt Point' in the Wíílíídeh dialect and was simplified to Dettah when non-indigenous people could not pronounce it. The place was a common fishing spot for the Tetsǫ́tʼine (Yellowknives) people and is home to nearly 200 indigenous people.

Dettah Tʼèɂehdaà
Yellowknives Dene First Nation (Dettah)
Dettah Show map of Northwest Territories Dettah Show map of Canada
Coordinates: 62°24′40″N 114°18′30″W[1]
Country	Canada
Territory	Northwest Territories
Region	North Slave Region
Territorial electoral district	Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh
Census division	Region 6
Government
• Chief	Ernest Betsina
• Counilors	Anastassia Judas, Peter Crookedhand, Mary Rose Sundberg, Rosanna Sangris, & Liza Charlo-Pieper
• MLA	Richard Edjericon
Area [3]
• Land	1.12 km2 (0.43 sq mi)
Elevation	179 m (587 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	192
• Density	171.9/km2 (445/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Canadian Postal code	X1A
Area code	867
Telephone exchanges	444 445 446 669 765 766 873 920
Sources: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,[4] Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,[5] Canada Flight Supplement[6]

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Dettah recorded a population of 192 living in 79 of its 85 total private dwellings, a change of -12.3% from its 2016 population of 219. With a land area of 1.12 km² (0.43 sq mi), it had a population density of 171.4/km² in 2021.^[3]

Both it and Ndilǫ are the communities of the Yellowknives. Dettah is represented by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (Dettah) and are part of the Akaitcho Territory Government.^[9]

Federal census population history of Detah

Year	Pop.	±%
1976	126	—
1981	143	+13.5%
1986	131	−8.4%
1991	150	+14.5%
1996	190	+26.7%
2001	234	+23.2%
2006	247	+5.6%
2011	210	−15.0%
2016	219	+4.3%
2021	192	−12.3%
Source: Statistics Canada [3][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Annual population estimates

Year Pop. ±% 2001 214 —     2002 219 +2.3% 2003 214 −2.3% 2004 230 +7.5% 2005 235 +2.2% 2006 254 +8.1% 2007 250 −1.6% 2008 245 −2.0% 2009 222 −9.4% 2010 221 −0.5%	Year Pop. ±% 2011 216 −2.3% 2012 217 +0.5% 2013 226 +4.1% 2014 234 +3.5% 2015 244 +4.3% 2016 247 +1.2% 2017 245 −0.8% 2018 235 −4.1% 2019 234 −0.4%
Sources: NWT Bureau of Statistics (2008 - 2019),[18] NWT Bureau of Statistics (2001 - 2017)[19]

Gallery

• 
  Bear skin drying
• 
  Kateri Tekakwitha church
• 
  First Nation Band Office
• 
  Kaw Tay Whee School
• 
  The Great Slave Lake at Dettah

Climate

Dettah has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with long, severely cold winters and short but mild, sometimes warm summers. Dettah and Yellowknife experience the sunniest springs and summers out of all of Canada's cities.

Weather records are from Yellowknife Airport, approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) northwest of Dettah.

Climate data for Yellowknife (Yellowknife Airport) WMO ID: 71936; coordinates 62°27′46″N 114°26′25″W; elevation: 205.7 m (675 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1942–present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high humidex	2.9	6.1	8.9	20.2	25.7	34.0	35.4	34.3	27.2	18.1	6.3	1.6	35.4
Record high °C (°F)	3.4 (38.1)	6.2 (43.2)	9.3 (48.7)	20.4 (68.7)	26.3 (79.3)	31.1 (88.0)	32.5 (90.5)	32.6 (90.7)	26.1 (79.0)	19.0 (66.2)	7.8 (46.0)	2.8 (37.0)	32.6 (90.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−21.6 (−6.9)	−18.0 (−0.4)	−10.6 (12.9)	0.3 (32.5)	10.4 (50.7)	18.6 (65.5)	21.5 (70.7)	18.4 (65.1)	10.9 (51.6)	1.5 (34.7)	−9.0 (15.8)	−18.0 (−0.4)	0.4 (32.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−25.5 (−13.9)	−22.7 (−8.9)	−16.6 (2.1)	−5.5 (22.1)	5.3 (41.5)	13.8 (56.8)	17.1 (62.8)	14.5 (58.1)	7.6 (45.7)	−1.0 (30.2)	−12.6 (9.3)	−21.8 (−7.2)	−4.0 (24.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−29.4 (−20.9)	−27.4 (−17.3)	−22.5 (−8.5)	−11.3 (11.7)	0.1 (32.2)	9.0 (48.2)	12.6 (54.7)	10.5 (50.9)	4.2 (39.6)	−3.6 (25.5)	−16.2 (2.8)	−25.6 (−14.1)	−8.3 (17.1)
Record low °C (°F)	−51.2 (−60.2)	−51.2 (−60.2)	−43.3 (−45.9)	−40.6 (−41.1)	−22.8 (−9.0)	−4.4 (24.1)	0.6 (33.1)	−0.6 (30.9)	−9.7 (14.5)	−28.9 (−20.0)	−44.4 (−47.9)	−48.3 (−54.9)	−51.2 (−60.2)
Record low wind chill	−64.0	−61.0	−56.8	−53.2	−31.8	−11.2	0.0	−4.8	−16.4	−36.3	−54.7	−58.9	−64.0
Average precipitation mm (inches)	15.0 (0.59)	11.0 (0.43)	14.1 (0.56)	11.6 (0.46)	16.3 (0.64)	28.9 (1.14)	40.4 (1.59)	44.0 (1.73)	43.0 (1.69)	28.8 (1.13)	25.8 (1.02)	15.1 (0.59)	293.9 (11.57)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.2 (0.01)	2.9 (0.11)	12.2 (0.48)	28.0 (1.10)	40.4 (1.59)	44.0 (1.73)	39.9 (1.57)	12.0 (0.47)	0.5 (0.02)	0.0 (0.0)	180.2 (7.09)
Average snowfall cm (inches)	21.7 (8.5)	16.1 (6.3)	19.2 (7.6)	9.9 (3.9)	4.5 (1.8)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	3.0 (1.2)	20.1 (7.9)	36.9 (14.5)	23.7 (9.3)	155.0 (61.0)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)	11.1	9.3	8.6	4.8	5.7	7.0	9.5	11.2	12.2	13.7	14.6	11.5	119.1
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)	0.09	0.04	0.25	1.2	4.4	6.8	9.5	11.2	11.6	5.8	0.82	0.13	51.9
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm)	12.4	10.3	9.5	4.1	1.9	0.04	0.0	0.0	1.2	9.6	16.0	13.2	78.2
Average relative humidity (%) (at 15:00 LST)	68.5	64.6	56.4	52.8	46.0	45.3	49.0	57.1	64.7	75.9	80.7	73.0	61.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours	50.6	107.3	188.4	276.4	335.7	373.8	358.0	276.2	157.7	65.0	42.7	24.6	2,256.5
Percentage possible sunshine	26.8	43.5	51.8	62.2	60.8	63.0	61.2	55.5	40.3	21.0	20.2	15.4	43.5
Average ultraviolet index	0	0	1	2	4	5	5	4	2	1	0	0	2
Source 1: Environment and Climate Change Canada[20] (sun 1981–2010)[21][22]
Source 2: Weather Atlas[23]