Indigenous-Led Aurora Trips in Yellowknife: Northstar Adventures and B. Dene Adventures

Yellowknife sits on the traditional lands of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. When travellers arrive in Yellowknife to watch the Northern Lights, they are standing on land where the Dene have observed and named those same phenomena since time immemorial. Skies that carry their own stories, knowledge, and significance within Dene culture.

Two Indigenous-owned operators make that context central to the Aurora experience: North Star Adventures, led by Joe Buffalo Child, and B. Dene Adventures, led by Bobby Drygeese. Both operations are 100% Indigenous-owned. Both are built around Aurora viewing that is inseparable from the culture, knowledge, and people of the land where the lights appear. This guide covers what each operator offers, who each experience suits, and how to book.

Fast Facts

North Star Adventures: Indigenous-led Aurora hunting experience, Indigenous storytelling, professional photography.

B. Dene Adventures: Dene cultural camp in Dettah, traditional drumming, local food, Indigenous storytelling.

Indigenous ownership: 100% Indigenous owned and operated.

Fall Aurora season: Mid-August through late September.

Winter Aurora season: Mid-November through early April.

North Star Adventures 

North Star Adventures is owned and operated by Joe Buffalo Child, who is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. The company is 100% Indigenous-owned and runs premium, small-group Aurora experiences built around hunting the Aurora. North Star Adventures takes guests by shuttle to the best available sky conditions on any given night, reading the weather, the darkness and the geomagnetic activity in real time.

The experience follows the guide's knowledge of the land and conditions around Yellowknife: where the clouds have cleared, where the horizon opens, where the Northern Lights are most likely to perform. Groups are kept deliberately small to allow for genuine time with the guide and for the kind of flexibility a larger group cannot manage.

Throughout the evening, guides share Dene knowledge of the Northern Lights – the oral traditions around the Aurora Borealis, what the lights have meant to people on this land across generations and the relationship between the sky and the land below it. Professional photography is included in the packages; guests leave with images as well as the experience itself.

North Star Adventures suits travellers who want a premium, mobile experience led by someone with deep knowledge of both the land and its culture. The small-group format and the guide's flexibility make it well suited to first-time visitors and returning travellers alike.

B. Dene Adventures

B. Dene Adventures is owned and operated by Bobby Drygeese, a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. The company is 100% Indigenous-owned and runs its programs from Dettah, one of the two Yellowknives Dene communities adjacent to Yellowknife, on the eastern shore of Great Slave Lake.

Guests are shuttled to Dettah and spend the evening at a Dene cultural camp that brings together Aurora viewing and traditional programming. The evening includes drumming, stories shared by community members, and local food prepared on site: Great Slave Lake fish and bannock. Viewing takes place from both a cabin and a teepee, with the open sky above Great Slave Lake providing an unobstructed window for the Northern Lights.

The cultural programming at B. Dene Adventures is not a supplement to the Aurora experience. It is the experience. Time in Dettah means time in a Yellowknives Dene community, with programming shaped and led by community members. The ice road itself, used by Yellowknives Dene people as a working winter route, is a meaningful part of the journey.

B. Dene Adventures suits travellers interested in cultural immersion alongside Aurora viewing. The programs are accessible and substantive in equal measure. 

Planning an Indigenous-Led Aurora Trip

Both operators run programs through the Aurora season, which stretches from mid-August to early April across the Northwest Territories. The winter Aurora season, mid-November through early April, offers the longest dark nights and the classic Canadian winter experience. The fall Aurora season, mid-August through Late September, brings shorter nights but warmer temperatures.

Both operators keep group sizes small, which means availability can be limited during peak periods. Book as far in advance as possible for late February, March, and September visits, and confirm current programming with each operator directly, as schedules can vary by season.

Many travellers combine one or both Indigenous-led experiences with an evening at Aurora Village or a stay at Blachford Lake Lodge. A four to five night Yellowknife itinerary gives you enough nights to include both operators alongside one or two additional viewing evenings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Indigenous-Led tour?

An Indigenous-led aurora tour is an aurora viewing experience designed and guided by Indigenous operators, with cultural programming that reflects the traditions and knowledge of the Nation. In Yellowknife, both North Star Adventures and B. Dene Adventures are 100% Indigenous-owned and operated, with Indigenous guides. The cultural component is central to the experience, not supplementary to it.
 

Are these tours suitable for first-time visitors to Yellowknife?

Yes. Both North Star Adventures and B. Dene Adventures welcome first-time visitors. No prior knowledge of Dene culture or Northern Lights viewing is required. The programs are accessible and designed to offer genuine cultural depth.
 

What is the difference between North Star Adventures and B. Dene Adventures?

North Star Adventures runs small-group mobile Aurora hunting experiences with Indigenous storytelling and professional photography, based in Yellowknife. B. Dene Adventures operates from Dettah, a Yellowknives Dene community on Great Slave Lake's eastern shore, and centres the evening on Dene cultural programming. The two experiences are complementary rather than interchangeable. Many travellers include both in a single trip.
 

Can I book both operators in one trip?

Yes, and in fact you should! A four-to-five-night stay in Yellowknife gives you enough evenings to include North Star Adventures and B. Dene Adventures alongside one or two additional Aurora viewing experiences.