Interethnic relations in the lower Mackenzie River region from the aboriginal period through the twentieth century are examined. Focus is placed on interactions between Eastern Kutchin and Mackenzie Inuit, although Eurocanadians and Metis also are included in a dynamic ethnic group framework. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, Kutchin-Inuit hostility and trade, Kutchin-EuroCanadian peace and trade, and Inuit-Eurocanadian aversion were characteristic. In the late nineteenth century and during the twentieth century, when a Metis group emerged, forces favoring both interethnic convergence and separation occurred.