Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas
Across the country, Indigenous Nations are creating Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas.
We are conserving places that matter to our cultures and to the health of the larger world. Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas help us be who we are: caribou people conserve caribou ranges. Salmon people protect salmon watersheds. They reflect our laws and traditions. And they ensure Indigenous Peoples can maintain our relationship with these lands.
Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas are often created in partnership with Crown governments, and some may be designated as tribal parks, national or territorial parks, or national wildlife areas. But Indigenous governments play the primary role in identifying and managing the land.
We hold the pen when lines are drawn on the map, we sit at the table when decisions are made, and we are on the ground taking care of lands and waters.
Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas honour the relationship between people and land. Indigenous Nations don’t designate a place as protected and leave it unattended. We recognize that forests, wetlands, moose habitat and songbird nesting grounds benefit from sustained, respectful management.
Indigenous Guardians provide that on-going management and stewardship.
“It’s an empowering story, and it’s not just empowering for First Nations Peoples. It’s empowering for everyone.”
— Dahti Tsetso Dehcho K’éhodi Guardians
In the heart of the Northwest Territories, the Lutsël K’e Dene First Nation has led the creation of one of the biggest protected areas in Canada. The entire region, called Thaidene Nëné, is an Indigenous protected area. Parts of it are also designated as a national park, territorial park and wildlife conservation area. All of it will be co-managed by Lutsël K’e Dene First Nation through the NiHat’ni Dene Guardians program.
Many other Indigenous Nations are working to create Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. With sustained support, we will protect and manage more lands for our communities and for all Canadians.
Sahtu Dene
In the Upper Mackenzie River Valley, the Sahtu Dene have launched the Nę K’ǝ́dı́ Ke guardian programs to manage proposed protected areas. The Sahtúgot’ine Dene plan to protect Tsá Túé, the sweeping Great Bear Lake Watershed, in honour of their prophesies and responsibilities. Near Fort Good Hope, the K'ahsho Got'ın̨ ę have signed an agreement to conserve the towering cliffs, crucial wetlands and boreal forest in Ts'ude Nıl̨ ın̨ e Tuɂeyeta. And the Shuta and Tulı́t'a Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę are working to protect Ni’o Ne P’ene, the headwaters of several major rivers and the historic pathway through the Mackenzie Mountains. Guardians will co-manage all of these areas, which together will conserve about 100,000 square kilometres of intact lands.
Kaska Dena Council
The Kaska Dena have proposed protecting Dene Kʼéh Kusān, over 40,000 square kilometres of intact lands in northern British Columbia. Dane nan yḗ dāh Network—the Kaska Land Guardians—will assist with the stewardship of the protected area, creating more long-term jobs in communities. The guardians program offers training in wildlife monitoring, archeology, water quality testing and climate change impacts. And by drawing on elders’ teaching and traditional knowledge, it also provides connections between the social and cultural wellbeing of the Kaska Dena.
Sayisi Dene First Nation
In northern Manitoba, the Sayisi Dene First Nation has proposed protection of 50,000 square kilometres of the Seal River watershed. Every year, 3,000 beluga whales gather to give birth in the river’s estuary. And hundreds of thousands of caribou in the Qaminuriak Herd winter in the region. The Sayisi Dene were forcibly removed from these homelands in the 1950s. Their return and their plan to protect the watershed will help ensure the community has a brighter future rooted in the land.
“We have beautiful territory. We have sandy beaches, limestone cliffs, thousands of birds that come from across the continent and raise their babies here. I love it all. It’s the reason I do this work.”
— Heidi Cook, Councilor Misipawistik Cree Nation
Ross River | Indigenous Protected Area Profiles
Indigenous-led conservation in action:the Ross River Dena is proposing 25,000 square kilometres of protected area in the Yukon. The creation of this protected area will provide economic opportunity for the community and preserve vital habitat for caribou.
