One Year After Launch, Momentum Builds for Guardians Campaign

By: Valérie Courtois & Frank Brown

January 26, 2021

Members of the Ni hat’ni Dene Guardians program of the Łutsël K’e First Nation along the shores of Great Slave Lake, NWT.

“Being a Guardian is good for the land,” said Shauna Yeomans of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.  “But the benefits ripple across communities and are creating a better future for our youth.” Yeomans’ words unleashed a round of applause from the packed room. The crowd of Guardians, Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Indigenous leaders gathered in Ottawa one year ago to celebrate the mark the start of the Land Needs Guardians campaign.

The campaign launched to celebrate the work of Indigenous Guardians and call for long-term investments in Guardians programs and Indigenous-led stewardship. One year later, 50,000 people have joined the campaign to advance Guardians’ conservation leadership.

We thank all the supporters and all the Guardians who care for lands and waters every day.

Guardians serve as the eyes and ears for Indigenous Nations, caring for lands and waters as part of our sacred trust for future generations. As Indigenous, place-based peoples, we have rights, but we also have responsibilities to the land. Guardians help communities honour those responsibilities. They draw on Indigenous law, knowledge, and tradition. And they conduct research that informs policies—strengthening Indigenous governance and Nationhood in the process.

Guardians Shauna Yeomans of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and Tanya Ball of the Kaska Dena speak at the Land Needs Guardians launch in Ottawa on January 28, 2020.

We need Guardians on the land now more than ever. Climate change threatens all of us. Animals and plants are disappearing. Freshwaters are becoming contaminated. Indigenous Peoples are stepping up to the challenge. We have the stewardship expertise, knowledge systems, and proven models. And we have Guardians.

Indigenous stewardship is building a brighter and more sustainable future—for everyone—even in the face of our current challenges. And that’s why so many people have joined the Land Needs Guardians campaign.

More Voices Call for Guardians on the Land

Momentum has built throughout the year. The campaign’s launch video has been viewed 1.1 million times. Guardians told their own video stories that reached hundreds of thousands of people online. And we’ve received endorsements from Elders, young Guardians, Members of Parliament, and more. Actor Harrison Ford said, “If you want clean water, a safe place for animals and a more stable climate, please join me and sign up at LandNeedsGuardians.ca.” Former Prime Minister Paul Martin called Guardians “a gift to Canada.”

In July, 10 new Guardians programs received funding through the Indigenous Guardians Pilot Program. Back in 2018, there were about 30 programs in the country. Today, there are over 80 Guardians programs caring for lands and waters on behalf of their Nations.

To help support more Guardians, the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI) made a budget submission to request sustained federal investment for Guardians programs and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. Together we have generated support for Guardians and Indigenous-led conservation among government decision makers.

A few weeks after the campaign launch, for instance, Prime Minister Trudeau talked about Guardians and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas for the first time in Parliament. By September, he told the UN Biodiversity Summit that Canada would protect 30% of lands by 2030 “the way we’ve worked on it so far, which is working with Indigenous Peoples who need to be partners in protecting the land, who understand how important it is to be good stewards of these lands and waters that sustain us.”

The progress of this year was possible because of the movement—growing up from the land calling for Indigenous leadership on the land.

We will build on this momentum going forward. We will work to secure funding for Guardians in the federal budget. And we will help foster connections among Guardians. It’s easy in this big country to feel isolated, especially in the time of COVID. Yet we know Guardians across Canada have a shared vision for clean water, healthy animals, and stronger communities. We want to connect and uplift the people who care for the land we all depend upon.

Join us by adding your name. When you do, you’re helping us show the government of Canada that people support Indigenous-led conservation and want more Guardians on the ground protecting lands and waters.