History of the Northwest Territories History of the Northwest Territories The History of the Northwest Territories begins with the population of the region by First Nations peoples, and proceeds through the transformation of it into provinces and territories of the nation of Canada, including the modern administrative unit of the Northwest Territories. When Europeans settlers began to divide the continent, the Northwest Territories included much of the sparsely populated regions of what is now western Canada. Over time, the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba were formed out of the territories. In 1898, the Yukon territory became a separate entity and in 1999 Nunavut was
Indigenous peoples of Yukon twelve percent were fluent in the language of their nation. Fourteen First Nations represented eight language groups. In 1991, an ongoing program for preservation of these languages was begun in "Voices of the Talking Circle", the proceedings of the Yukon Aboriginal Language Services which emphasised that the people are the proper stewards of their languages and maintaining a critical mass of fluent speakers is essential. This is a list of the fourteen First Nations of indigenous people of Yukon. Indigenous peoples of Yukon The indigenous peoples of Yukon were the sole inhabitants of the Arctic coastal territories prior to arrival