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Old Anglican Church in Tulita Northwest Territories

This restored log church is one of the oldest buildings in the Northwest Territories. Constructed in 1880 by Anglican missionaries, the single-storey church features a gable roof and wooden steeple. The dovetailed log structure is an excellent example of the architectural style of the time, as well as the fine craftsmanship of builders working under harsh northern conditions. Visitors to Tulita can find the old church on the former Hudson’s Bay lot in the historic centre of this small Sahtu community.

Old Log School House

Yellowknife Fist public school log building is a Historic site in Yellowknife NWT

The first school in Yellowknife, the Old Log School House was built in 1937 by prominent local pioneers Ray G. ‘Red’ McPhie and ‘Sleepy Jim’ McDonald. Originally used as a mining kitchen and bunkhouse, the town’s booming population necessitated its repurposing as a one-room schoolhouse in 1939. Its school board was the first democratically elected government body in the territory and the students were presided over by Mildred Hall, the first teacher in Yellowknife.

Space was so limited that the 32 students attended in shifts, and the classes were often interrupted by miners and other locals mistaking the building for a bar. After one year of operation, classes had to relocate to a larger building. The schoolhouse was moved from Old Town to the present location on Franklin (50th) Avenue in 1987, on the property of the elementary school named in honour of Mildred Hall. It’s now listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places and, although currently closed to the public, is planned to become a museum dedicated to Yellowknife’s early educational history.

Albert Faille’s Cabin

Albert Faille Cabin in Fort Simpson Northwest Territories

Albert Faille’s Cabin is a window into the past and a must-see attraction in the Dehcho. It was from this modest one-room lodging that prospector Albert Faille would plan his quests into the Nahanni Mountains, seeking a legendary gold mine he never found.

Each spring from the 1950s, up until his death in 1974 at the age of 87, Faille would journey up the Liard and Nahanni rivers, portaging around the great Virginia Falls and continuing into the alpine backcountry. His unending hunt for gold was documented in the 1962 National Film Board short ‘The Nahanni.’ The film and media coverage made Faille an icon of the Nahanni and its spirit of adventure, but he was also known locally as a friendly, knowledgeable guide to the region.

Preserved immediately after his death, Faille’s cabin is the oldest surviving building in Fort Simpson. It was constructed in 1919 from locally milled wood and used as a mining kitchen before Faille took up residence in the ’40s. Today, standing in a picturesque location overlooking the Mackenzie River, it attracts tourists and paddlers who visit on their way to the South Nahanni River.

McPherson House

Built in 1936, this one-and-a-half storey squared-log dwelling overlooks the Ehdaa Historic Site and Papal Flats in Fort Simpson. The house is located at the southern edge of the original Hudson’s Bay Company compound, boasting a beautiful view of the confluence of the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers – a key trade transportation route for many centuries.

An excellent example of Métis architecture and the fur-trade heritage of the community, the McPherson House also sits on grounds comprising a multi-component stratified archaeological site. Upper layers suggest that the Hudson’s Bay Company used this area for the construction of York Boats, while lower strata indicate use by Indigenous groups dating centuries before contact with European traders.

Ehdaa National Historic Site

The papal ground teepee under the northern lights in Fort Simpson NWT

Festive sounds of celebration and solemn whispers of prayers have been heard seasonally at Ehdaa since oral tradition began for the Łiidlįį Kų́ę́ Dene.

For centuries Dene have gathered at this site, located on inviting, low-lying flat land on the southwestern end of Fort Simpson Island, near the confluence of the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers. Groups would journey here as part of their seasonal travels in order to strengthen and renew social and spiritual ties. Land use was allocated by the Elders, coming of age ceremonies were held, marriages were performed, disputes were settled, goods, knowledge and techniques were traded and games were played. Spiritual healing ceremonies, such as the drum dance, were practiced as well.

Today, the site remains an important location to the local Łiidlįį Kų́ę́ Dene, who continue to visit this sacred ground, holding seasonal celebrations at the Drum Circle, honoring their connection to the land and their culture.

Deh Cho Bridge

The Deh Cho Bridge near Fort Providence is the only bridge to straddle Canada’s biggest river, the Mackenzie. It’s twice as long as any other bridge in Northern Canada. It was also the costliest piece of infrastructure in territorial history, with a price tag of $202 million. RIsing more than 100 feet above the water, it provides excellent views both up- and downstream.

Saoyú-ʔehdacho National Historic Site

In one of the most isolated parts of North America stands one of the most sacred and significant sites in the Northwest Territories. Saoyú-ʔehdacho is the largest National Historic Site in Canada. It’s made up of two peninsulas on Great Bear Lake: Saoyú (saw-you-eh or “grizzly bear mountain”) and ʔehdacho (aa-daa-cho or “scented grass hills”). Both feature flat summits several hundred metres above sea level, along with raised beaches containing evidence of human use from over 5,000 years ago.

The park itself is the first of its kind in Canada to be designed in consultation with Indigenous groups and jointly administered by Parks Canada and the Délı̨nę Got’ine Government’. This sacred land of healing and teaching is very important to the Sahtugot’ine (“the people of the Sahtu”). It’s through this land and the stories that surround it that Elders in Délı̨nę pass on the history, laws, values and skills critical to their way of life.

The Igloo Church

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Inuvik, a trip north of the Arctic Circle is not complete without a photo in front of, and inside, the Igloo Church.

This bleach-white building, capped by a silvery dome meant to imitate the Inuvialuit snow-houses of old, dates back to Inuvik’s early days as a planned community.

Built in 1960 by a team of volunteers, Our Lady of Victory church was designed by Catholic missionary Maurice Larocque – an experienced carpenter who had no formal architectural training. Construction was actually completed without a building permit because the government officials in Ottawa couldn’t understand Larocque’s blueprints.

Nevertheless, Larocque knew a thing or two about building in the Arctic. The round shape of the structure mitigates the damage caused by frost heaving. The church is also the only major building in Inuvik that doesn’t rest on piling. Its foundation consists of a bowl-shaped concrete slab on top of a bed of gravel. The gravel acts as insulation, stopping the heat of the building above from melting the permafrost underneath.

Wood for the church was floated down the Mackenzie River from Fort Smith, nearly 2,000 kilometres away. Inside, old hockey sticks were repurposed to floor a walkway in the cupola and the interior walls feature paintings of the Station of the Cross by local Inuvialuit artist Mona Thrasher.

Today, the church is a major landmark in downtown Inuvik and one of the town’s most-photographed structures. During the summer months, tours are available throughout the week and weekend.

The Lost Patrol graves

Lost Patrol Graves in the Northwest Territories

In the shadow of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Fort McPherson lies the final resting place of the infamous Lost Patrol. Here visitors can pay homage to one of the tragic episode in Northern history.

It began on a lonely trail straddling the Yukon and Northwest Territories over a century ago. Inspector Francis Fitzgerald and his three constables departed on an 800-kilometre dogsled journey from Fort McPherson to Dawson City. They never arrived.

Their corpses were found by search parties that spring — as were their diaries, which told a ghastly tale of desperate meandering as the patrol became lost and their food ran out. Fitzgerald and his men eventually tried to retreat to the Northwest Territories, but their hunger won out. They died just 40 kilometres shy of Fort McPherson.

Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary

This big, boreal wildlife reserve is home to Canada’s northernmost population of bison, also called wood buffalo, and is located just east of the community of Fort Providence.

The free-roaming Mackenzie Herd wanders through these protected 10,000 square kilometres. Long ago these mighty bison stampeded all over Alberta, northern British Columbia and much of the Northwest Territories. But hunting and disease nearly wiped out the NWT’s bison population. In 1963, 18 of the remaining animals were relocated to this newly created reserve and the species was given official protection. The herd recovered to some 2,400 in the 1980s, though has since declined to around 850 animals.

Roadside parks in the area – including North Arm and Chan Lake – provide an opportunity to stretch your legs and explore the sanctuary’s flora and landscape. One of the best ways to view the Mackenzie Herd, though, is simply travelling along Highway 3. Lumbering bison grazing along the side of the road is an almost inevitable sight for travellers in summer. Drivers should also be ready for unexpected delays from the massive animals lazily crossing – or snoozing – on the highway.

Be alert and aware of bison when driving on NWT roads, especially at night. While you can take pictures from inside your car, do not approach or feed bison at any time.

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The Old Anglican Church