Editing Northwest Territories (section)

==Name==
{{See also|#History}}
The name was originally descriptive, adopted by the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] during the [[Early modern period|colonial era]] to indicate where it lay in relation to the rest of [[Rupert's Land]]. It has been shortened from ''North-Western Territory'' and then ''North-West Territories''.

In [[Inuktitut]], the Northwest Territories are referred to as {{transliteration|iu|Nunatsiaq}} ([[Inuktitut syllabics]] ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅ), "beautiful land".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Izenberg |first=Dafna |title=The Conscience of Nunavut |journal=Ryerson Review of Journalism (Online) |publisher=Ryerson School of Journalism |location=Toronto |date=Summer 2005 |language=en |url=http://www.rrj.ca/m3517/ |issn=0838-0651 |access-date=September 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054941/http://www.rrj.ca/m3517/ |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }}</ref> The northernmost region of the territory is home to the [[Inuvialuit]], who primarily live in the [[Inuvialuit Settlement Region]] (Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq), while the southern portion is called {{lang|ath|Denendeh}} (an [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan]] word meaning "our land"). {{lang|ath|Denendeh}} is the vast Dene country, stretching from central Alaska to [[Hudson Bay]], within which lie the homelands of the numerous Dene nations.

Since the Yukon Territory was split from it in 1898, it is no longer the westernmost territory, and until [[Nunavut]] was split from it in 1999 it included territory extending as far east as [[Atlantic Canada|Canada's Atlantic provinces]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hopper |first=Tristin |date=February 28, 2018 |title=Why the Northwest Territories desperately need a name change |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/why-the-northwest-territories-desperately-need-a-name-change |website=National Post |access-date=November 29, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523075415/https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/why-the-northwest-territories-desperately-need-a-name-change |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 15, 2021 |title=Northwest Territories |url=https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/northwest-territories |access-date=November 29, 2023 |website=Wordorigins.org |language=en-US |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523075416/https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/northwest-territories |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Canada's Northwest Territories Travel Guide |url=https://artoftravel.tips/destinations/canadas-northwest-territories-travel-guide/ |access-date=November 29, 2023 |website=The Art of Travel: Wander, Explore, Discover |language=en-US |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523075421/https://artoftravel.tips/destinations/canadas-northwest-territories-travel-guide/ |url-status=live }}</ref> There has been some discussion of changing the name, possibly to a term from an Indigenous language. One proposal was "Denendeh", as advocated by the former premier [[Stephen Kakfwi]], among others.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://caldercup.com/CNEWSNunavut/feature11.html |title=Tundra for two: dividing Canada's far-north is no small task |access-date=February 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405201955/http://caldercup.com/CNEWSNunavut/feature11.html |archive-date=April 5, 2005}}</ref> One of the most popular proposals for a new name—to name the territory "Bob"—began as a [[prank]], but for a while it was at or near the top in the [[opinion poll|public-opinion polls]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/northwest-territories-looking-for-new-name-bob-need-not-apply-1.319749 |title=Northwest Territories looking for new name – "Bob" need not apply |publisher=CBC |location=Canada |date=January 11, 2002 |access-date=February 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901222859/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/northwest-territories-looking-for-new-name-bob-need-not-apply-1.319749 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/western-arctic-to-northwest-territories-mp-calls-for-riding-name-change-1.764460 |title=Western Arctic to Northwest Territories: MP calls for riding name change |publisher=CBC |location=Canada |date=June 25, 2008 |access-date=April 30, 2015 |archive-date=April 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408203807/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/western-arctic-to-northwest-territories-mp-calls-for-riding-name-change-1.764460 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Jon Willing |url=http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/issues/112699/4Features/Features2.shtml |title=What about Bob, Water-Lou? |access-date=February 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030118152558/http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/issues/112699/4Features/Features2.shtml |archive-date=January 18, 2003}}</ref>