Fort Smith, Northwest Territories

Fort Smith (Chipewyan: Thebacha "beside the rapids") is a town in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. It is located in the southeastern portion of the Northwest Territories, on the Slave River and adjacent to the Alberta border along the 60th parallel north.

Fort Smith was founded around the Slave River. It served a vital link for water transportation between southern Canada and the western Arctic. Early fur traders found a portage route, long established by indigenous peoples, from what is now Fort Fitzgerald on the western bank of the Slave River to Fort Smith. This route allowed its users to bypass the four sets of impassable rapids (Cassette Rapids, Pelican Rapids, Mountain Rapids, and Rapids of the Drowned). The portage trail had been traditionally used for centuries by generations of local Indigenous peoples.

The make up of the Indigenous population of the region shifted as the fortunes of the tribes changed. By 1870, the Slavey had moved north and the Cree had occupied the Slave River Valley. The Chipewyan had also begun moving into the area.

Peter Pond of the North West Company was the first white trader recorded to have traveled on the Slave River and made contact with Indigenous peoples in this region. In the 1780s he established a post on Lake Athabasca called Fort Chipewyan, at the head of the Slave River.

Dominated by the activities of the Hudson's Bay Company, the fur trade penetrated more deeply into the Mackenzie River district in the 19th century. York boats were used to run the Slave River rapids and, where needed, small portages were established to bypass the most dangerous areas. Nonetheless, serious mishaps were bound to happen. This section of the Slave River became known as 'The Rapids of the Drowned'.

In 1872, the Hudson's Bay Company built an outpost called Smith's Landing (Fort Fitzgerald) at the most southern set of the Slave River rapids. In 1874, another outpost was constructed at the most northern set of rapids. It was called Fort Smith. Both posts were named in honour of Donald Alexander Smith, who in August 1897, was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as The 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal.

In 1876, the Roman Catholic Mission was moved from Salt River to Fort Smith while the community was prospering.

In 1886, the Hudson's Bay Company launched the steam-propelled vessel SS Wrigley to run from Fort Smith to the Mackenzie River. The steamer SS Grahame ran the Slave River from Fort McMurray to the head of the rapids at Smith's Landing beginning in 1882. In 1898, the Yukon Gold Rush brought many gold seekers over the portages and through Fort Smith. In 1908, a new HBC steamer paddlewheeler, SS Mackenzie River, was launched to operate on the Slave and Mackenzie rivers below Fort Smith (see boats of the Mackenzie River watershed).