II.

People

Yellowknife has grown steadily in recent decades, from 5,867 people in 1971 to 15,179 in 1991. According to the 2001 census, the city’s population was 16,541.

About 17 percent of the population is indigenous, representing both Dene (Athapaskan-speaking) and Métis groups in the Mackenzie Valley. Nonindigenous people in Yellowknife, mostly of British or French descent, have historically been very transient, with sizable shifts in population tied to changes in mining and mineral exploration activities.