Slavey People - Name

Name

The name "Slave" is an English translation of the Cree name for their traditional enemies, including the people now known as the Slavey, whom they often enslaved; the French Esclave is analogous. However, in order to avoid the connotations of the word slave, the name came to be presented as indigenous, and this was indicated by pronouncing the e. Later the spelling was changed to Slavé, and then Slavey, to capture the new pronunciation. The name is seldom used by the Slavey, who call themselves Dene.

Because most Athabaskan peoples call themselves Dene, the word is of little use in English. However, the northern Slavey are also known as the Sahtú. The southern band are known as the Deh Cho.

The names of the Slave River, Lesser Slave River, Great Slave Lake and Lesser Slave Lake all derive from this Cree name for their enemies, though not necessarily from the people now known as Slavey in English. The term Esclaves remains incorporated in each of these geographical features' French names.