SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
While preparing to dip his feet in the water from the government dock, Jason Landry said he caught sight of a mysterious creature which made headlines in 2004.

A recent sighting of Ol' Slavey - said to be living in the deep waters of Great Slave Lake - breathes life into the legend that made headlines across the country in 2004, after a Catholic priest reported a fast-moving large creature near his home on the lake shore. - Walter Strong/NNSL photo illustration

The 37-year-old - who was born in Hay River but has lived in Yellowknife all his life - said he was about to lower his toes to the surface of the water when he came face to face with the animal known as Ol' Slavey in Great Slave Lake folklore, last month.

"I turned white as a ghost and then I left," said Landry. "It looked like a big smiling face with teeth."

Landry said he didn't just see one creature, he saw several.

"There were two adults and about six babies," he said, adding that the body of one of the adults would fill a large room. "The females look all dark green and the males are white and green."

Landry said he retreated from the pier when he saw the creatures he said resemble artists' renditions of Scotland's famous and illusive Loch Ness monster.

When he reported last month's sighting to his family members, he said, he learned about other earlier sightings. He said he was told the creatures have extremely thick skin which makes them nearly impervious to gunfire.

"My uncle said if you shot it with a .30-06 (rifle) it wouldn't even pierce it's skin," he said.

That fact aside, Landry said he doesn't feel his life was in danger because the creatures don't appear to be a threat to people.

"I heard they don't bother humans," he said.

The discussion about Ol' Slavey began when former Yellowknifer assignment editor Chris Woodall decided there was a dearth of lake-monster lore coming from Great Slave Lake. In a column published on Aug. 11, 2004, he named the hypothetical creature and prompted an explosion of discourse on the topic.

In September of that year Roman Catholic priest Jim Lynn went on the record announcing he'd seen the creature that inhabits the continent's deepest lake. Newspapers and television crews from across the country picked up the story recounting the events of Sept. 12, 2004, when Lynn said he saw the beast following a small boat as it passed his home on the shore of Great Slave Lake.

Lynn told Yellowknifer he saw an object six to eight feet tall moving swiftly across the water.

"The first thing you have to think is if there's that much of it above water, how much is below? ... It was like the head of a dragon - just coming out of the water at just a ferocious speed, just moving like crazy," he said, adding that there are local stories which corroborate his claim.

"The aboriginal peoples have been talking about a creature in the lake for years," he said.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) isn't biting into the Ol' Slavey legend, according to DFO spokesperson Michael Niziol. In an e-mail, he stated the department hasn't received any reports of creatures fitting the description, and that there is zero likelihood that a sea monster or "dinosaur-like fish" lives in the lake.

Since Great Slave is the world's 10th largest lake - at 29,000 square kilometres - and is North America's deepest lake - 614 metres at its deepest - it is easy to imagine something could be lurking down in the darkness. Stories about lake monsters in Northern waters are almost as numerous as the aboriginal groups that live around them, according to paranormal researcher Raymond Yakeleya. The Tulita man, who now lives in Edmonton, said he can recall Dene elders talking about a creature living in the waters between Lutsel K'e and Yellowknife.

"Lutsel K'e people ... when they're coming to Yellowknife, they shut off the motors and they paddle across a certain body of water," he said. "There's something there."

In 2004, Archie Catholique, who was then chief of Lutsel K'e, told Yellowknifer people in the community know of the creatures but choose to leave them alone. The beasts don't bother people so people shouldn't bother them, he said.

On Wednesday, Fred Sangris, a Yellowknives Dene band member, said First Nations people are trying to protect the creatures in the lake with secrecy, to keep them from becoming a spectacle for the entire world.

"If scientists come here and kill it, somebody is going to be responsible for that," he said.

Yakeleya said he's part of a group creating a TV series called the 13th Hour Paranormal Society. They cover everything from sasquatch sightings to UFO abductions, said Yakeleya, adding studying the paranormal has been a fascination for him since he was young.

"It's stuff I've heard when I was growing up, and now that I'm a grown man it's time to find out what the hell it's all about," he said. "I think that's important. It doesn't do any good to laugh at people. There's definitely something in Northern waters."

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