Ndilo, home to the Yellowknives Dene is quickly becoming an aboriginal community that is helping put the diamond industry on Canada's map. With its own diamond cutting and polishing plant it is estimated that the Yellowknives Dene First Nation injects about $13 million into Yellowknife's economy every year.
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Ndilo (Nov 01/00) - Wedged between Great Slave Lake's Back and Yellowknife bays, the Yellowknives Dene community of Ndilo, halves Latham Island.
Once it was known as Rainbow Valley -- because of a group of small, government-built colourful houses.
When it comes to electoral ridings, it's in Weledeh.
To the City of Yellowknife, it's one large piece of private property -- Lot 500.
And to 300 people who live there, the majority of whom are members of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, it's home. It is believed some Ndilo residents are not band members while a few others are non-aboriginals. But so far, if true, it's not an issue.
Ndilo, whose name means "the end of the island," is one of two Yellowknives Dene communities. The other is Dettah which means "burnt point."
Former MLA Roy Erasmus, born in Ndilo but raised on Latham Island near Air Tindi, built a house and moved to Ndilo about three years ago.
"I got used to living down by the water when I was young. I never really liked it uptown," he said.
"When we first lived there, there were only about five families. There was no road which was the main reason we moved," he said. They were not "real houses," they were tent-frames, he adds.
On Latham Island, Erasmus said it was easier to get to school and easier for his father to get to work at the Con Mine.
Today, Erasmus says he sees lots of uptowners taking the occasional drive through Ndilo.
Some Yellowknifers "like to cruise down there and check things out on a Sunday afternoon," he said.
Ndilo is within Yellowknife city limits but reserved for aboriginal use. The city receives government grants in lieu of taxes.
In exchange for the grants, the city provides basic services like road maintenance and fire protection.
Erasmus notes providing services is an area that needs some work. He's been on the band council twice, and notes the road into Ndilo, except for the first stretch, is not paved. Adequate lighting is another area where's there could be room for improvement.
"People feel they are not getting their fair share of services," Erasmus said.
Turning point
Overall, Erasmus said the building of Vital Abel House about 10 years ago, was a turning point for the community. Vital Abel is a 32-bed boarding home for people from the communities coming to Yellowknife for medical reasons.
Vital Abel was opened about two years after the Deton'Cho Corp. was formed. Deton'Cho, responsible for building most of Ndilo's infrastructure, is the economic development arm of the Yellowknives Dene. The corporation's most recent development is its majority-owned Deton'Cho Diamonds cutting and polishing plant. Catering, cable television service, construction, and mine reclamation companies are among others under the Deton'Cho banner.
Yellowknives Dene chiefs Peter Liske (Ndilo) and Richard Edjericon (Dettah) agree.
They estimate the Yellowknives Dene First Nation injects about $13 million a year into the city's economy. Yet the services, often stop at the crest of the hill on Morrison Drive -- just before Ndilo starts.
Edjericon estimated the city gets about $417,000 a year in revenues because of Ndilo. And, he adds, not all of the revenue is from governments. Some, he said, comes from the first nation's housing division.
"(Yet) the playground equipment, we bought ourselves," he said.
"A lot of things in the community are done by the chief and council. You have to be creative."
Liske says: "Every day we are confronted with different issues."
For elders, he said, the issue is land claims.
For the community, there is a land-use issue. Ndilo needs more housing, but, says Liske, it is a problem finding room for new buildings. Among future development plans, is an addition to the new Deton'Cho Diamonds office complex.
Edjericon -- although he is Dettah chief lives in Ndilo. He said a number of old buildings have been removed and, in the past five years, about $5 million in new housing has been built with the assistance of the NWT Housing Corp.
When it comes to demographics, Ndilo has a high percentage of young people, Liske adds.
Ndilo's K'alemi Dene school has gone from about 15 students in 1998, which was its first year, to 53 today. Four more are expected in January at the kindergarten-Grade 6 school. As well, the school is home to an Aboriginal Head Start program for four-year-olds. There are 32 children taking part, 16 in the morning and 16 in the afternoon.
"When I started, we had to move the school up town to a temporary location. Then we had to move the school back. Take an apartment or home and times it by 20," principal Angela James said. K'alemi has three teachers, one pre-school teacher and one assistant. Students at the school are from families who speak Dogrib, Chipewyan, North Slavey, South Slavey, and Gwich'in, she said.
And not all of the students live in Ndilo. many are from uptown. The traditional languages of Ndilo are Dogrib and Chipewyan.
Carol Mackenzie, who has lived in the community for 35 years, says overall Ndilo is a great place to live. It's quieter than Yellowknife, she said.
"It's peaceful with family and friends around."
Asked about what she would like to see in Ndilo, Mackenzie said even more housing for elders. At the same time, she said she wants Ndilo to remain a place where kids are free to play safely -- goals every community, and neighbourhood, should aim for.
