The Decibel - A success story in Indigenous-led conservation

Episode Date: December 16, 2022

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $800-million in funding for Indigenous-led conservation efforts at COP15, the biodiversity conference happening in Montreal. The Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area and national park is considered a success story in Indigenous-led conservation. It was established in 2019 after decades of discussion and negotiation between the federal and territorial governments and the local Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation.Addie Jonasson was part of those negotiations. She tells us why this park is so important to the local wildlife, and its significance to the Indigenous peoples, and how this park could serve as an example for conservation efforts in Canada.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [e-mail]

We have a site about not too far from our community that we go each year, every year in August. And it's our spiritual site that we go to. That's Addie Yonason. She's from the Lutsulke Dene First Nation in the Northwest Territories. It's a falls, and we believe that we have a lady that sits there in the falls. And she has been there from time immemorial. And she's there to heal, help, you know, people. I just feel this powerful feeling of being just very peaceful there,

very grounded to the land. This area she's describing is part of the Thay Dene Nene Indigenous Protected Area, just outside her community. So, you know, we look after that area very well. We don't want anybody there. We didn't want any development, nothing to disturb, you know, that area. Because it's a sacred area for us.

This park is one of Canada's few Indigenous protected and conserved areas, called IPCAs. At COP15, which is the biodiversity conference happening in Montreal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced funding for more Indigenous-led conservation efforts like this one. Communities have been clear. Safeguarding lands and waters will help build a strong future for generations to come. As a government, our role is to listen and support that vision. Today, Adi tells us about the Fai Dene Nene Park that she helped establish, and how parks like this might serve as an example for other conservation efforts in Canada.

I'm Mainika Raman-Wilms, and this is The Decibel from The Globe and Mail. Adi, thank you so much for joining me today. You're welcome. Can you tell me about the Thaydeninene protected area? What does it look like and what's the landscape like there? Well, it's a protected area that my community of Flutsukhe worked on for many, many years. And the landscape there is beautiful. There is pristine lakes, boreal forests, cliffs,

just a beautiful area that is untouched area. So very, very beautiful. And when you say pristine and untouched, how pristine and untouched are we talking about here? Well, I'm talking about like I live in my community of Flutsuk right by the shoreline. The water is, you know, very pristine that I can go right down to the shore and dip my cup in the water and drink it. And it's, you know, clean, good water. You can go out in a boat in the summertime and stop on any shoreline. And it is just beautiful.

It's peaceful, nobody around, you know, and very serene. Wow. And the same thing, yeah, the same thing in the wintertime with the skidoo. If you go out skidooing, you know, you can go miles without seeing anybody. That sounds amazing. It's actually over 26,000 square kilometers, so it's a significant amount of area then as well. What animals live in the area? We have all sorts of animals. I mean, we have caribou, moose, muskox,

wolves, fox, martens, minks, all sorts of animals there. And how important is the park, this protected area to the species, particularly something like the caribou? It's very important, you know, because they need to have the space to be there. And, you know, if we had, I mean, we have diamond mines in the area. So, you know, it's disruptive. Can you tell me a little bit about those diamond mines that you mentioned? What kind of, I guess, disruption are you talking about? Well, they have a lot of noise, you know, with all the trucks, you know, the activity that happens in any kind of mine site, you know, with vehicles, trucks, it has to be very disruptive to the animals, especially the caribou.

And why the caribou specifically? Because it's an animal that we rely on, you know, we have for centuries. You know, caribou is our main food staple. And my First Nation, Dinasulthina people, or Chippewan people are called caribou eaters. And besides the caribou, how else would you, I guess, use the land or live in this area? So, you know, we use the land in a lot of ways. Like people go out camping, they go out gathering, both in the summertime, in the wintertime, all seasons to different areas. So we use the area all the time.

What's your connection to the park, Addie? I was born a few kilometers out of my community, out on the land in November in a tent and have lived on the land prior to being taken to residential schools. So my formative years was out on the land. I've worked alongside my community for many, many years on talking about protecting the area. I was the chief in 2007 when my community signed an agreement

with the Minister of Environment to do a feasibility study on the protected area. So I've been involved for quite a while and I'm currently the chair of the Thaitanana Ha Dayalti board. The board members are from Lutsuke, my community, and from the Northwest Territories Métis Nation. And the name means that it's the board that speaks for the land of the ancestors in my Deneyati language. Wow. And so why is it so important to you and to the Lutsuke Denei First Nation? Why is it so important to protect this area? It's really important.

Like, you know, we worked many, many years to make sure that the land was kept pristine. We want it left the way it is, you know, for our people and for, you know, the water, the animals, every living thing there on the land. We at one time had a request from a uranium company to do some exploration in the area. And that area where they wanted was close to the caffing grounds of the caribou.

But we said no, that will not happen. I understand it took 50 years of discussions to create this park, Addie. Can you tell me a little bit about that history? Initially, apparently, that we had, you know, the government of Canada wanting to make a park in our area. And the chief at the time said no. You know, he needed to consult with our community and other people. And then we had, you know, the same type of interest again from the government of Canada wanting to make a park.

And the next chief said, no, no, we don't want that. And then what happened was we started to have diamond development. The big boom, the diamond mines started to happen, and a lot of talk about that. So then the community were very concerned, you know, about what would happen within our traditional territory. So that's when the work started to, the community started to talk about, you know, protecting the area from development.

So that started the process. The elders were very, very concerned, you know, when the diamond mine boom started. So it took many years, you know, and a lot, a lot of community meetings in talking about what needed to be done. But we also were very, very concerned that, you know, if we would do that, that we would make sure

that our Section 35 rights were protected, that we could hunt, gather, trap in the area, that those rights would not disappear. We didn't want to have a protected area or a park where we couldn't practice our way of life. We'll be back in a moment. So, Fai Dene Nene was established as a protected area and national park in 2019. There are two other indigenous protected areas in the Northwest Territories and plans for others elsewhere in Canada.

How does the management of this park actually work? Well, currently, right now, we're in our second year of doing a management plan for Thaitanana. So we work very closely with the two governments that we signed the agreements with, which is the government of Canada and the government of the Northwest Territories. So we are working closely with them and using the laws that they have, the policies they have in place and making sure that we are working to ensure that the land is protected using our Dene law and their Western laws. So what are some of the Dene law, you know, says respect, respect the land. If you're out on the land, first time out on the land, you make an offering to the land, the water. You make an offering of tobacco for safe travels, for good travels, good weather,

but most importantly, to say thank you. Say, you know, we're out in the land. You don't throw things, garbage in the water. You don't leave garbage on the land. When somebody's out there, you see them out there. You know, you make sure that they're going to be safe. Like you tell them where not to go. And we share, you know, we share everything that we have out there on the land. Yeah.

And if you're on the board, then you are making direct decisions about what gets to happen in the park and what doesn't then. That's correct. Yeah. And if you're on the board, then you are making direct decisions about what gets to happen in the park and what doesn't then? That's correct. Yeah. Wow. And I understand that there are also guardians that live in the park. Can you tell me about them? What's their role? We have the Nihahni guardian program. Nihahni means watchers of the land. We've had that program for many years before the establishment of Taita Nene. And what they do is they go out on the land, they talk with the visitors, they do surveys,

they make sure that people are safe if they're traveling within the park, both summer and winter. It's a really good program because they also take the youth out on the land and they make sure that the youth are learning the traditional ways of our culture and identity. And they're taught. They're taught a lot of traditional skills. I know it's only been formally established for a few years, but have you seen any successes in the park already? There's a lot of good things that, you know, that have come out and will continue to come out. But one of the things I just like to talk about is the youth that go out in the land with the Nihonni rangers. You know, they're taught, like I said, all the traditional skills, traditional knowledge,

the language. And that's really important because we've always looked after the land. And it's so important that we continue to do it and that we pass those teachings onto our children, our youth. Because it was passed on to us by our elders, our parents, and we need to continue to do that so that it can go down through generations. Yeah. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has laid out a goal for conservation in Canada. The goal is to have 30% of Canada's land and water protected by 2030.

I'm just curious, Adi, what role do you see these Indigenous protected areas playing in the broader conservation efforts in Canada? Well, you know, I think it's really important, necessary that people, especially Indigenous people, work, you know, in protecting areas. That's our nature. We've always, you know, been out on the land,

you know, Indigenous people connected to the land. And I think, you know, it's important that we do that work. Before I let you go, I just want to ask you one more question. I'm struck by the way that you've talked about the cooperation that happens here between Canadian governments and the Indigenous community there. And I wonder, do you think arrangements like this with Indigenous communities and Canadian governments working together, do you think this could help, I guess, you know, reconciliation happens in a lot of areas, and this area with the land, that is so, so important, I think.

The connection, I guess. I just feel so, you know, connected to the land that it's a really good place to start because we all want, you know, we all want to have a healthy, healthy land in Canada. Addie, it's been so wonderful to get the chance to talk to you. Thank you so much for speaking with me. You're welcome. Thank you. Merci. That's it for today.

I'm Mainika Raman-Wilms. Our producers are Madeline White, Cheryl Sutherland, and Rachel Levy-McLaughlin. David Crosby edits the show. Kasia Mihailovic is our senior producer, and Angela Pichenza is our executive editor. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll talk to you next week.