| Łutselkʼe | |
| Other Name: | Łutsël Kʼé; Snowdrift (pre-1992) |
| Settlement Type: | First Nation - Designated Authority of Łutselkʼe |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Northwest Territories#Canada |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Territory |
| Subdivision Name1: | Northwest Territories |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | North Slave |
| Subdivision Type3: | Territorial electoral district |
| Subdivision Name3: | Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh |
| Subdivision Type4: | Census division |
| Subdivision Name4: | Region 5 |
| Leader Title: | Chief |
| Leader Name: | Darryl Marlowe |
| Leader Title1: | Senior Administrative Officer |
| Leader Name1: | Hanna Catholique |
| Leader Title2: | MLA |
| Leader Name2: | Richard Edjericon |
| Established Title: | Settled |
| Area Land Km2: | 43.18 |
| Elevation M: | 168 |
| Coordinates: | 62.4053°N -110.7386°W |
| Population As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Total: | 303 |
| Population Density Km2: | 7.0 |
| Timezone: | MST |
| Utc Offset: | −7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −6 |
| Postal Code Type: | Canadian Postal code |
| Postal Code: | X |
| Area Code: | 867 |
| Blank Name: | Telephone exchange |
| Blank Info: | 370 |
| Blank2 Name: | Prices |
| Blank3 Name: | - Living cost |
| Blank3 Info: | 167.5 |
| Blank4 Name: | - Food price index |
| Blank4 Info: | 184.0 |
| Footnotes: | Sources: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,[1] Canada Flight Supplement 2013 figure based on Edmonton = 100[2] 2012 figure based on Yellowknife = 100 |
Łutselkʼe (Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé: in Athapascan languages pronounced as /ɬutsʰɛɮk'ɛ/; "place of the Chipewyan; Dene Suline: łutsel", the cisco,[3] a type of small fish), also spelt Łutsël Kʼé, is a "designated authority"[4] in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is on the south shore near the eastern end of Great Slave Lake and until 1 July 1992, it was known as Snowdrift, as the community lies near the mouth of the Snowdrift River.[5]
Łutselkʼe is a First Nation community and the area was traditionally occupied by the Chipewyan Dene In 1925 the Hudson's Bay Company opened a post followed by the Roman Catholic Church. A school opened in 1960.[6] There is a proposal ongoing for Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve, with an area of 14000km2, which has the support of the community.[7]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lutselk'e had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 42.96km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[8]
In the 2016 Census the majority of the population, 270 people, were First Nations, 10 people were Métis and 10 were Inuit.[9] The main languages in the community are Denesuline and English.
In 2016, 115 people said they spoke an Indigenous languages as their mother tongue. Of these 115 people, 105 spoke Dene (Chipewyan or Denesuline), 5 spoke Dogrib or Tłı̨chǫ and 5 spoke North Slavey or Hare. Another 5 people gave a Chinese language as their mother tongue. A total of 295 knew English and another 5 knew both English and French.[10]
There is a two-person Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment and health centre with two nurses in the community. There is a single grocery store, the Lutselk'e Co-op, a post office and nine lodges / outfitters in the area. Education in the community is provided by the Lutsel Kʼe Dene School, which offers a comprehensive K-12 program. Additionally, there is also a community learning centre run by Aurora College.[11] [12]
Although not accessible by road there is an airport, Lutselk'e Airport, with scheduled services from Yellowknife and an annual sealift is provided by the territorial government's ships from Hay River in the summer. Lutselk'e Water Aerodrome is available in the summer months when the lake is clear of ice.
Łutsel Kʼe is represented by the Łutsël K'é Dene First Nation and are part of the Akaitcho Territory Government.[13]