Dënesųłiné
[aka Chipewyan, Montagnais, Dene Suline]Classification: Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
·threatened
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Threatened
20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
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2235?
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Making an accurate estimate of the number of first-language Chipewyan speakers is difficult because many are also speakers of Cree. The Government of Canada estimates a total of 1,865 speakers, the majority in Alberta and Saskatchewan. A recent survey at Cold Lake found only 200 fluent speakers out 1,800-2,000 Band members, but the proportion is much higher in some remote communities such as Wollaston Lake, Saskatchewan, where most children are reported to be more fluent in Chipewyan than in English. In the Northwest Territories, where Chipewyan has official language status, there are 370 speakers (185 of whom use the language at home) in the communities of Lutselk’e, Ft. Smith, and Ft. Resolution.
- PLACES
- Canada
- LOCATION DESCRIPTION
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories
Of the Dene complex spoken in a number of communities scattered across a large area in the forest and tundra of northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the eastern Northwest Territories. Among the principal settlements are Cold Lake and Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, and Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e, NWT.