La Loche is a northern Dene community located about six hours north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Highway 155. The town is bordered by a lake called Lac La Loche. The population of La Loche is approximately 2300 people, not including the reserve that is located approximately 20 minutes outside of town. With the reserve, La Loche supports a population of approximately 3500 people. It is the second biggest town in northern Saskatchewan, with La Ronge being the biggest.
The Dene are a group of first nations people who live mostly in the northern and arctic portions of Canada. They were the first people to settle in what is now the Northwest Territories.
There are seven Dene reserves located in northern Saskatchewan. They include: Birch Narrows First Nation, Black Lake, Buffalo River, Clearwater River (closest reserve to La Loche), English River, Fond du Lac, and Hatchet Lake. Within the northern area of Saskatchewan there are eight bands of Dene that are divided into two groups. The first group of four lives in the Athabasca region. They are known as “etthén heldélü Dené” (caribou eaters). Their territory in northern Saskatchewan stretches from Lake Athabasca in the west to Hatchet Lake in the east then it goes north and includes Fond du Lac, Black Lake and Stony Rapids (not a reserve). The second group is in the Churchill River basin and includes the following bands: Buffalo River, English River, Birch Narrows, and Clearwater River.
The Dene language itself has a couple of dialects which are distinct between the two regions. The first dialect is known as "t" and is spoken by six of the eight bands. The other is known as "k" and is similar to the dialect spoken in Snowdrift Northwest Territories. However the way the language is spoken may still vary throughout the region because of it's size. The bands that are closer to the border with the Northwest Territories tend to identify more with the Inuit in the north than with the Dene bands that are farther south.The Dene language and way of life are very strong and vibrant in La Loche. The children learn Dene as their first language and are brought up on a healthy diet of deer meat, dried fish and bannock (bread). The beautiful arts and crafts that represent that native way of life are still made by both young and old. There are many very talented teenagers in La Loche that have taken up the crafts and will continue the tradition. However not all of the communities that were mentioned earlier have those strong ties. One of the towns that is losing it's culture is Stony Rapids. Children are now taught English as their first language and there are only a few adults and elders in the community that remain fluent in the language. Other towns that are having trouble retaining their culture include: Black Lake, Fond du Lac, Hatchet Lake, Buffalo River and Birch Narrows. According to the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre the problem lies in the schools providing English only instruction for their children and not acknowledging the culture and way of life that is so important to these people. This is a debate that rages on. It was alive when I was working in La Loche as well. As strong as the culture remains in La Loche, the people genuinely feel as though instruction should be in Dene only and second language class should be English. The school boards, at the moment, are unwilling to allow Dene only instruction and are insisting that instruction be done in one of the two national languages (English or French). To La Loche's credit, they continue to try and include the culture and way of life within the classrooms. The children are encouraged to use their language and embrace their culture and teachers are told to include cultural lessons in their classrooms. Although the school is doing what it can within the bounds that it has been given, this is not enough. The people of La Loche are afraid that they will become like Stony Rapids and many other communities that have all but lost their language and culture. There is a constant battle of wills that I believe is reflected in the low grades and lower still graduation rates that are so common in these communities.