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.

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.