On a cold, crisp October evening in Anchorage, the room of over 100 people fell still as Mary Hostetter, Yup’ik, shared why she believed in the power of Guardians – and why she had invited everyone to join us in learning about that power. Hostetter is one of the founders of the Bristol Bay Guardians program in southwest Alaska. She is inspired by the model of Guardians that is flourishing across Canada and hopes to see a similar movement expand across Alaska

On Saturday, June 15th, Twyla Edgi-Masuzumi and her fellow Guardians were cooking breakfast on the shores of the Mackenzie River and noticed a plume of smoke rising from the forest in the direction of their community of Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories.

The federal government has announced $340 million in new funding over five years to support Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship. This includes more than $173 million for Guardians programs. And it represents a major increase from previous funding for Guardians—up from the $25 million over five years pilot investment in 2017.

Guardians programs help strengthen ourselves and our Nations after decades of colonization. “The mass graves opened up wounds in our own community and across the country,” said Chief Heidi Cook of the Misipawistik Cree Nation in Manitoba. “Maintaining our relationships with the land is healing for a lot of our people. Going back to those natural laws and feeling the love that the land has for us—feeling the belonging in our space—that's the important thing.”

For time immemorial storytelling has been widely utilised as a way of sharing information. From childhood to the moment you are reading this article, your life has been filled with stories. Some are read to you from a teacher or fellow student, some are told to you from an adult, some stories are fiction, some share a lesson or a moral, and some share a little about your history. Stories have been used to share messages, to translate knowledge and to provide learning opportunities. Within Indigenous populations this form of learning and sharing is a critical element that enables knowledge to be passed on from generation to generation.

In many locations, Guardians are the only ones tracking climate impacts on the land. We need their knowledge to inform climate-related policies, whether it’s setting limits on Dungeness crab harvests or reducing development in lands that store carbon.

The Land Needs Guardians campaign launched in 2020 to celebrate the work of Guardians and call for long-term investments in Indigenous-led conservation. One year later, 50,000 people have joined the campaign to help get more Guardians on the ground.

As a Guardian with the Wahkohtowin Development Program, I was a part of a team that embarked on a journey to connect our community to culture by building a traditional Algonquin style canoe. I am filled with gratitude to have been a part of the entire process.

In early March, before the world began closing borders and sheltering in place, Mitchell Shae found himself in a helicopter looking down over the mountain tops of part of his traditional territory. These lands are known as Ts'udé Nilįné Tuyeta, a newly established Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area covering 10,000 square kilometres near Rádeyı̨lı̨kóé, Northwest of Yellowknife. Shae is one of the Indigenous Guardians who will help manage the protected area.

I have seen first-hand the impacts of the land on people. I have seen youth inspired to continue to learn their language. I have seen Guardians become mentors and lead programming. I have seen Guardians share their knowledge while doing their work of “Protecting the land by being on the land in a Dene way.” I have seen gaps bridged between elders and youth as they interact on the land.

COVID-19 is helping us see that we are all connected, and we have a shared responsibility. The Coastal Guardian Watchmen help honour this responsibility. They serve as the eyes and ears for our territory. They have the training to understand what is happening on the land, and they ensure the natural resources that sustains us now will continue to sustain us. They are the voice of the ecosystems we all depend on.

COVID-19 poses unique challenges to Indigenous Nations. Indigenous Guardians have the skills to help with patrols, outreach to elders, food distribution and preparing families to go out on the land can keep people safe. “Being involved in emergency response just gives me another way to help,” said Tanya Ball.