Robby Dick, Ross River

Meet Robby Dick: traditional land steward for the Kaska Dena Nation in Ross River, Yukon. Robby has been a land steward since 2015. His greatest sense of joy comes from being out on the land, from hunting, and hearing youth and Elders share stories in Kaska around a campfire. Though these moments were missing from his childhood, he feels grateful for the ability to reconnect with his traditional heritage and the land today: “Once you go back home, you have the intact relationship that you need from the land. I feel a lot healthier as an individual: spiritually, mentally, and physically.”

Part of his work has also involved dedicating significant time and energy into the proposal for establishing the Ross River Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area. The proposed IPCA would protect over 25,000 square kilometres of traditional lands and caribou habitat that would be managed by Indigenous Guardians. “It’s our inherent duty,” says Robby, on the responsibility of protecting Dena lands for future generations.