August 8: Somba Ké (Yellowknife), Akaitcho Region, Denendeh.
This article is simply impressions: there was little to no actual “research” or interviews conducted in this writing of my feelings and reactions to Somba Ké/Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. With that disclaimer, here are some thoughts on Somba Ké, nestled on the north side of the Great Slave Lake.
August 8: Somba Ké (Yellowknife),
Akaitcho Region , Denendeh (NWT).
This article is simply impressions: there was little to no actual “research” or interviews conducted in this writing of my feelings and reactions to Somba Ké/Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. With that disclaimer, here are some thoughts on Somba Ké, nestled on the north side of the Great Slave Lake.
Somba Ké, better known as Yellowknife, translates in the Tlicho (Dogrib) dialect approximately as “place of money”#. I can think of no better opening line than that to begin a description of the city with the slogan “The city with a golden history and a brilliant future.”-- an accurate image only from the point of commerce , an accuracy that many resent and many others embrace.
Incorporated in 1920, Somba Ké was indeed founded as a part of the gold rush, and today there are a few reminders around about this in the names of shops or in local art and history. The Dené nation whose territory Somba Ké was built upon is the Akaitcho, who are one (along with the Deh Cho) of the two Dené/NWT regions who have yet to finalise their dealings with the Canadian state. The population of the city is roughly 19 000; well over half of the city is non-indigenous. While proportionally one of the smaller communities of Dené in per capita terms, Yellowknife has the highest number of indigenous peoples of any city in Denendeh (officially the Northwest Territories)-- Denendeh being the only non-Inuit nation on Turtle Island where (until the time of the construction of the Pipeline if predictions hold true) the indigenous remain a majority on their own land.
Somba Ké makes a perfect name for the simple reason that it was gold that drove the founding of the town, while today the sloganeered “brilliant future” is a reference not to the pristine clean beauty of the still-mostly virgin lands, but in fact the industrial prospects for the NWT: diamond mines, natural gas and oil development are leading the way. Yellowknife has banners flying all over the town extolling this “luck”-- “The diamond capital of Canada” is ear-marked everywhere and Diavik is proud to sponsor everything from small theatre operations to the 25th Anniversary of the “Folk on the Rocks” weekend concert. On top of this, De Beers, well-known human rights skirter from South Africa, is set to open the fourth and apparently largest of the diamond mines; as a hitchhiker I was told a few times that this would be a great time to look for a job digging the guts out of the earth.
The irony of the Northwest Territories namesake, in my opinion, is in the similarity with which today’s Northwest Territories is administered by Canada to the Northwest Territories of 1871 and 1885. Both ignoring the white settler population and treating the territory as a store of reserves for Ottawa-- never mind over-riding and smothering the indigenous population-- in the process of “development” led to a temporary alliance between settlers and indigenous peoples during the mis-named “Riel Rebellion”. Today, the rights of northerners to determine their own fate is fiercely guarded, and the unifying feature of northerner consciousness-- indigenous or settler-- is that any development must first pass through the north before being decided upon and applied. This becomes incredibly apparent in conversations, media, any manner of interaction with people around issues of “development”.
However, unlike the NWT of the end of the 19th Century, the discussion as to what this would mean in the north is very quickly complicated; Many northerners from places such as Somba Ké (as well as the current premier Joe Handley) will tell you that the best way to deal with this issue is the “devolution” form of agreement that has been won by Newfoundland; other indigenous leaderships-- such as Deh Cho [located southwestern Denendeh/NWT] grand chief Herb Norwegian-- will tell you that such an agreement that gives more power to the territory (or provincial status, something sought by Handley) will erode the rights of indigenous nations, and will actually make real self-determination further away from reality, not closer. Nonetheless, the basic problems of a region with radically different realities being spoon-fed development schemes while financially and politically denying control or royalties to the NWT remains the main source of northerner resentment of the powerful south. For two examples of the disparity in terms of north/south revenues: The state of Botswana, Africa charges any multinational corporation (on paper at least) 50 percent revenues for the plunder of their diamonds; Canada charges companies like De Beers 2 percent. Within Canada, thanks to the National Energy Policy, revenues from Alberta’s oil fields have 30 percent taxation, but in the north it is an open field for various oil and gas corporations: only 4 percent of revenues are taken for the use of the land.#*
There is a lot of “folky” influence on the history of Yellowknife, ironically clashing with today’s “world city” development schemes of resource extraction. The city of Yellowknife is openly hostile to the existence of the Houseboater community that I was fortunate enough to stay in while in town. This community, living on boats year round and not paying property taxes or rent in the federal harbour, is the modern image of what the tourist department sells to attract visitors to see the “old town charm”. Yellowknife Bay has some thirty or so year round houses that are partially powered by solar power and, in at least one home, wind power from a small windmill on the roof.
The old city has long since moved, slowly but surely, into the “new city” (or uptown) for the most part, with the beautiful harbour life still giving the colour of town. With money ear-marking the main thrust of the town these days, a steady stream of temporary residents are found; it was remarked to me that one of the first things you learn after moving to YK is not to get too attached to someone-- everyone is leaving soon.
Everyone, of course, except the indigenous population that makes such a large percentage of the population in a city that often uses the happy language of “frontier” rather than homeland to describe itself. The Federal government-- usually the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND)-- is readily visible everywhere, along with the Canadian military, of course the RCMP and the oil and gas industry. Much of the north is painted with a multi-cultural veneer, but the truth is there is an undercurrent of apartheid alive and well. Of course, as a short term visitor, my vision of reality was colored by my experiences: People would describe different bars and public places as “Indian” or “white”, the only interaction I witnessed between the population and the police was white RCMP officers arresting an indigenous woman from within a Dogrib community centre (the "Dogrib"-- really the Tlicho-- have recently "extinguished" their land claim, getting a final settlement considered the "best deal" of the agreements so far). Of all the various places I ended up in socially, there were next to no indigenous people who attended these places (house parties, pubs and the like). One night at a place called the White Fox, a friend from town remarked to me out of the blue “Canadian apartheid is alive and well here, eh?” referring to the near total absence of indigenous faces in this packed establishment. All of the indigenous terms, translations (Somba Ké and the whole territory have 11 official languages) on federal buildings and symbols have not wallpapered over this historical cleavage.
The most jarring aspect to me, likely due to my focus on such matters, is the regular stream of propaganda coming from the MGP (Mackenzie Gas Project) PR team. In nearly every single public magazine, newspaper and even on large public spaces there are “promises” “announcements” and “updates” from the five “partners” who have been using many Orwellian attempts as self-fulfilling prophecy using the language of “benefits” and “inevitability” everywhere they can to promote their pipeline dreams. Buy a copy of any of the local corporate news voices (owned by Northern News Services) and there is a good chance that MGP flyers talking about the new “stage” of “readiness” will fall out. After witnessing the bludgeoning of the population with such blanketing, it is quite clear to me that it is a miracle that there are still individuals questioning and indeed, challenging the pipeline as the recently announced beginning of the “environmental impact assessment” public hearings are getting ready to commence.
The city is blessed with a large amount of beauty, from Frame Lake in the middle of town to the Bay itself I was fortunate enough to stay in. There is also a full-steam ahead feeling from the commerce district, whether that be with the new diamond mines, possible oil and gas pipelines and drilling, and to invite the world to move here and enjoy the city. There is a struggling yet vibrant poetry and folk music lifestyle left behind and nurtured beneath the admonishment of the “future” being linked to the “development” of “progress”.
And, of course, while the community has a brilliant time (as did I) enjoying a folky Friday night at the Old Town’s WildCat Pub (where the small size and small town charm include a sign asking you to fill empty spots at tables with strangers and make new friends) or taking in many of the local arts, the smell of money taking over and directing the future of the most pristine section of Turtle Island is impossible to ignore. However, walking down the street with my laptop case one day, and again as I was leaving after 9 days with all of my gear to hitch out of town, cars stopped on simple residential streets to ask me if I wanted a ride. Such are the contradictory attitudes of this government city, both a thin wedge from Ottawa and a place where life in Denendeh is celebrated. I am left to wonder how a town that becomes more and more oriented to oil and gas extraction and profits can remain concerned so deeply about the human spirit, or for that matter the random hitchhiker they see walking on the roads.
# Jesse James, singer/guitarist Diga, personal interviews.
#* Petr Cizek, personal interviews.