K’iyeli “Home Place”
A place you don’t want to miss while in Fort Simpson
Extend your trip. Visit our Dene Elders, for a day or two. O.K. Even for a few hours. It may be the only chance you will have to learn about the people who have lived in the territory for thousands of years – the same territory you are visiting today. You will hear about our history, our culture and you will taste our traditional food and lifestyle. We are a friendly fun-loving people and you will be most welcome here.
If you don’t seize this opportunity you will kick yourself in the butt for many years thinking about the mistake you made. I bet you’ve done
that before – and I don’t want you to do it again!!
It’s not just about our traditional country food, nor even the northern lights, or about sleeping in a teepee. Oh, maybe you already know how to make a Dene drum, or sew and bead a pair of native moccasins, or drink our healthy mushroom tea full of antioxidants, or learn to call moose and geese, or snare rabbits, skin them, cook them and eat them. If you do then maybe this isn’t for you.
This is a real Dene cultural presentation and experience that you will remember for a long time. The Cazon family, who will be looking after you, are direct descendants of a family who helped guide Alexander Mackenzie part way down the Mackenzie River (Dehcho) towards its mouth in 1789. Think about that!
What’s more you will be staying near the old Fort of the Forks which
was established in 1803 by the North West Company. That’s well over
200 years ago. In 1821 it moved to Fort Simpson when the North West
Company amalgamated with the Hudson Bay Company.
You will learn more than you ever thought you knew about parts of the fauna and flora as medicines, in recipes and as part of their culture. You may even learn how to say, “Hello”, “Thank you” and “Goodbye” in Dene and why men cannot do that and women can only do this and so forth. And what a wonderful time you will have doing it all!
After playing Dene games, doing crafts and visiting some historical sites, your guides will tell stories and legends, talk about their traditions, history and culture and answer all your questions. Learn about and experience the northern lights.
