Description
The Yellowknives, Yellow Knives, Copper Indians, Red Knives are indigenous peoples of Canada, one of the five main groups of the First Nations Dene who live in the Northwest Territories. The name, which is also the source for the later community of Yellowknife, derives from the colour of the tools made from copper deposits. The destruction of the tribe came in the late 18th and early 19th centuries at the hands of the Dogrib, however, who were retaliating for earlier raids and harassments. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated some 1,200 Yellowknife descendants.
Language
Dene Suline, Dogrib
Culture
The Yellowknife natives are original people of the Northwest Territories, in northern Canada. Here is a map showing the location of traditional Yellowknife lands. Yellowknife people lived in hide tents called tipis (or tepees). Yellowknife communities used to move the locations of their villages periodically to follow caribou herds and other food sources. Yellowknife men and women wore very similar clothing: a hide tunic with trousers or leggings and wore moccasins on their feet.