The Northwest Territories (NWT) boasts a profound connection to its environment, evidenced by a long history of wildlife conservation, to extensive mining activities. The NWT holds the distinction for the most lakes in Canada, estimated at approximately one million (Lakes in Canada, 2006). Furthermore, it is home to Canada’s largest lake, Great Bear Lake, covering 31,000 km², and North America’s deepest lake, Great Slave Lake, plunging to 2,000 feet (Lakes in Canada, 2006).With some of the biggest lakes in the world, comes rivers that supply them. The Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada stretching approximately 1,800km starting at the Great Slave Lake, draining north in the Beaufort Sea Northwest Canada (Marsh, 2006).
The Mackenzie River, known as the “Deh Cho” to the Dene meaning Big River, holds significant importance to the Indigenous population and all who enjoy the fishing, hunting and traveling, the river provides.
Communities settled along the Mackenzie River are remote, and rely on the river for delivering essentials. The Marine Transportation Services (MTS) is a cargo ship fleet supplying communities with fuel, vehicles, building supplies and non-perishable foods (GNWT, 2026). Although mail is delivered more frequently by air, big packages are delivered annually in the summer, when ice is thawed. If the water levels of the Mackenzie River are low in the summer, this can put the communities at risk of not getting their annual supply.