Traditional Knowledge of Gameti

The father of the late Johnny Arrowmaker was the first to build a house at Gamètì. In addition to being an important place for caribou, it was also known as a fine place for furbearing animals and for its good fishing. There is also a fine whagweè (a sandy area) at Gamètì. Gamètì is named after Gamè, and tì means ‘lake’. It was known to be a beautiful area, surrounded by many islands and hills, and people began to move there.

The community of Gamètì is located along the chain of waterways connecting Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake; it is 300 km northwest of Yellowknife, with a population of approximately 300. The Jean Wetrade School has been recently updated and contains a large gymnasium. There are daily scheduled flights from Yellowknife to Gamètì and in winter there is access to Gamètì via a 213 km winter ice road from Highway 3 near Behchokǫ̀.