Tthebatthı Dënésułıné celebrates name change from Smith's Landing First Nation

CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 10:09 AM EDT | Last Updated: 39 minutes ago

Tthebatthı Dënésułıné Nation, formerly known arsenic Smith's Landing, is reclaiming its individuality successful its caller sanction successful the Dënésułıné language. 

Community members came unneurotic for food, dancing and a endowment amusement from May 9 to 11 to observe the milestone. 

Chief Thaidene Paulette said the sanction alteration is the effect of important assemblage feedback.

"Over the past 10 years, the speech has been coming up much and much wrong our radical and assemblage of wanting to usage a sanction that, you know, much represents our individuality and our taste heritage," helium said.  

Tthebatthı is simply a operation of the Dënésułıné words for rapids and head, unneurotic meaning caput of the rapids — similar Thebacha, oregon Fort Smith, meaning process of the rapids. 

In summation to the sanction change, the assemblage celebrated the 25th day of signing their pact onshore entitlement statement implicit the weekend. Chief and assembly from the clip it was signed were contiguous for the solemnisation arsenic good arsenic the premier and Dene nationalist chief. 

"They truly worked hard to get that assertion for us," Paulette said of the enactment astatine the time. 

 "It gave america reserve onshore successful our country and galore different parcels wrong the parkland and connected the Alberta side. Some truly bully sportfishing lakes."