Part of the Dene people, their homelands are in the Great Slave Lake region, in Canada's Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia, and northwestern Alberta.

Slavey or just Slave is a translation of Awokanak,[2] the name given to Dene by the Cree "who sometimes raided and enslaved their less aggressive northern neighbors [sic]".

[7] The South Slavey live in northwestern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, and the southern Northwest Territories.

The Navajo people (Diné) of the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States are said to be descended from the Nahani, who lived where the Nahanni National Park Reserve is, and also the Slavey of Northern Canada.

[12] Most residents of Lynx River, the fictional town in which CBC drama North of 60 is set, are Slavey.