People group profile · PG043373
The Denesuline of Canada
The Denesuline of Canada, numbering about 13,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Dene people of northern Saskatchewan with an archaeological presence dating back 8,000 to 12,000 years, first contacted through Thanadelthur, a Dene woman who guided Hudson's Bay traders into their land, helping establish the 1717 fort at Churchill.
They are an indigenous people in the North American Indigenous people cluster of the North American Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism, and they primarily speak Chipewyan.
Fast facts
- Country
- Canada
- Population
- 13,500
- Affinity group
- American Peoples
- People cluster
- North American Indigenous
- Primary language
- Chipewyan (chp)
- Primary religion
- Protestantism
- Strategic Progress Index ?
- No Longer Unreached
- Evangelical
- 10% or Greater but Less than 15%
- GSEC ?
- 10% or Greater Evangelical
- Lostness priority ?
- Moderately Reached People Group
- Also known as
- Denesuline, Dënesųłı̨né, Dënë Sųłınë́, Dene
- Region
- Northern America, Americas
- Location
- Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, southeastern Northwest Territories (Snowdrift and Fort Resolution), Fort Smith, Fort Chipewyan, Wolliston Post, Buffalo Narrows, Brochet, and some communities in Reindeer Lake
Where they live
Gospel status
The Denesuline are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Denesuline
- Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
- Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
- Send out laborers from this people to the nations
Primary religion
Protestantism · Christianity
80% adherents
Primary language
Chipewyan · Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit family
80% speak Chipewyan
Gospel resources in Chipewyan
- Bible available, published 1881
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources not available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Dene)
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Denesuline
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
- Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
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