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Saoyú-?ehdacho National Historic Site of Canada

Grizzly Bear Mountain and Scented Grass Hills, Northwest Territories, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1997/09/22

General view of Sahoyúé-§ehdacho National Historic Site of Canada, showing the high standard of environmental quality and biodiversity evident in the natural landforms, flora and fauna.; Parks Canada Agency/Agence Parcs Canada.
General view
General view of Sahoyúé-§ehdacho National Historic Site of Canada, showing a cabin site in its found form.; Parks Canada Agency/Agence Parcs Canada
General view
General view of Sahoyúé-§ehdacho National Historic Site of Canada, showing the location on the shoreline of Great Bear Lake.; Parks Canada Agency/Agence Parcs Canada.
General view

Other Name(s)

Saoyú-?ehdacho National Historic Site of Canada
Saoyú-?ehdacho
Saoyú-?ehdacho
Sahoyúé-Edacho
Sahoyúé-Edacho
Grizzly Bear Mountain and Scented Grass Hills
Mont Grizzly Bear et les collines Scented Grass
Sahyoue
Sahyoue
sahoyue
sahoyue
sahoyúé
sahoyúé
saoyú
saoyú
Sah Zhue He
Sah Zhue He
Saoyuwé-edacho
Saoyuwé-edacho
ehdacho
ehdacho
Æehdacho
Æehdacho
?edacho
?edacho

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/07/15

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Saoyú-?ehdacho National Historic Site of Canada is a large cultural landscape made up of two peninsulas, located south of the tree line in the Northwest Territories. The two peninsulas, Sahoyue and Edacho, reach into Great Bear Lake from the west and south. Both landscapes rise gradually over a number of kilometres to broad, relatively flat summits covered with open boreal forest. Official recognition refers to the two peninsulas, an area of 5,565 square km, and their associated features and buildings.

Heritage Value

Saoyú-?ehdacho was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1997 because:
- its cultural values, expressed through the interrelationship between the landscape, oral histories, graves and cultural resources, such as trails and cabins, help to explain and contribute to an understanding of the origin, spiritual values, lifestyle and land-use of the Sahtu Dene.

Its heritage value lies in the cultural landscape as a whole, its environmental quality, which allows traditional lifestyle and land use activities, and the cultural values of the Sahtu Dene expressed through the inter-relationship between landscape, oral history, graves and cultural resources. These are outstanding landscapes that blend the natural and spiritual worlds of the Sahtu Dene and help define them as a people. The extensive oral tradition brings the history of the Sahtu Dene alive and signifies the importance of these sacred lands to them and to the heritage of Canada.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 1996; Commemorative Integrity Statement.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that contribute to the heritage character of the site include:
- the location on the shoreline of Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories;
- the completeness of the cultural landscape as an integrated whole over all time, and in particular:
- the high standard of environmental quality and biodiversity evident in the natural landforms, flora and fauna;
- the absence of industrial development;
- the specific sacred sites and places of significance and, in particular, the list of such places currently maintained and supplemented by the Sahtu Dene;
- the places at which specific stories are told, including traditional hunting, trapping, fishing, plant harvesting and camping sites, portages and trails;
- any tent rings, teepee poles, cabin sites in their found forms, extent materials and location;
- any implements and tools including ruined fish traps in their found forms, materials and locations;
- any grave sites associated with specific places in their found forms and materials;
- the portages and trails in their found forms and locations;
- any archaeological sites in their found forms, locations and materials including evidence of the cultural practices of the Sahtu Dene and the relationship with Saoyú-?ehdacho.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1997/09/22

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Learning and the Arts
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Philosophy and Spirituality
Peopling the Land
People and the Environment
Peopling the Land
Canada's Earliest Inhabitants

Function - Category and Type

Current

Religion, Ritual and Funeral
Aboriginal Ritual Site

Historic

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate Documentation Centre 3rd Floor, room 366 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Québec J8X 0B3

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

1795

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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