New Agreement in NWT Advances Self Determination for Indigenous Peoples

December 9, 2024

Over 250 people gathered in the Behchokǫ̀ Culture Centre in the Northwest Territories on an early winter day. After walking outside for a fire feeding ceremony, they came together in a circular room designed with a large Dene drum mounted to the ceiling above and looking out giant windows at the snow-covered landscape beyond. The land is what brought them together. On November 14, representatives of 22 Indigenous Governments, the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and private donors announced an agreement that will create transformative benefits for lands, waters, and communities across the region.

The agreement will enable $375 million to support Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship, including $300 million from the Government of Canada and $75 million from private donors. Known as NWT: Our Land for the Future, it will be one of largest Indigenous-led land conservation initiatives in the world.

“What we are showing to the rest of the world is that the NWT is a shining light,” Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian told the crowd. “We will create something unique, something beautiful, and it’s all driven by Indigenous Peoples. We are the ones that will move it forward. We are protecting the spirit of the land.”

Conveners and Facilitators

The Indigenous Leadership Initiative is proud to have served as the convener of this process. At the request of The Pew Charitable Trusts—which works on similar initiatives in other countries—ILI conducted outreach to Indigenous Governments across the territory, along with outreach to the federal and territorial governments, to hear their visions for a possible partnership. This dialogue began in 2021, and over time, ILI helped bring interested parties together, facilitated conversations, and supported partners to develop consensus and finalize the agreement.

The ILI is not a signatory to the agreement. Instead, we have worked to foster collaboration and help advance partners’ ambitions for caring for lands. Our organization is dedicated to strengthening Indigenous Nationhood as a path to fulfilling the responsibility to care for lands and waters. The NWT: Our Land for the Future initiative approaches conservation and stewardship as an expression of self-determination, and ILI has been honoured to support its development.

“Looking around the room, our hearts are full,” said ILI Deputy Director Dahti Tsetso, who served as emcee at the signing celebration. “It is important to acknowledge and honour the many, many, many people who worked together to help bring this agreement to completion. From the start, collaboration was the key word. It hasn’t always been easy, but we made it here together.”

Unprecedented Collaboration

NWT: Our Land for the Future reflects an unprecedented level of cooperation, even for a region that prides itself on consensus decision making. It also includes more Indigenous Governments than other similar conservation-based initiatives around the world.

“It’s rare to have 22 Indigenous Governments come together, and also work with Canada, GNWT and donors,” said Elder Willard Hagan representing the Gwich’in Tribal Council. “Just by itself, that is a reason to celebrate, because it doesn’t happen very often.”

Collaboration was a theme that every speaker and many audience members emphasized throughout the day. “The determination and commitment that went into this work was like nothing I experienced in my career before,” said the Honourable Jay Macdonald, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Government of the Northwest Territories. “I’m incredibly proud to stand here today alongside so many northerners and our partners and celebrate what we have achieved together.”

Indigenous Leadership and Self Determination

Indigenous leadership is at the heart of NWT: Our Land for the Future.  Indigenous Governments in the NWT are the sole beneficiaries of the funds, and the investments will help enable Indigenous Governments to advance their aspirations for the land. The initiative will fund a range of conservation and stewardship activities, including establishing new protected and conserved areas identified by Indigenous Governments, creating Indigenous Guardians programs, conducting climate research and resilience efforts, and hosting language and culture revitalization programs.

“Part of Indigenous leadership is being able to set our own priorities. It’s all about self determination,” said Tłı̨chǫ Government Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty. “We have achieved this agreement by working together, and by continuing to work together, we will achieve greater things: we will take care of the land, the water, the animals, the plant life, and we will also take care of our communities and our people.”

Several partners echoed these sentiments. The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, told the crowd that the initiative “is about indigenous self-determination over your lands. This is not about Canada or the Northwest Territories, prescribing what needs to be done. It is about Canada and the Territories following your lead because you know best to protect your lands.”

Moving Forward 

With a signed agreement, the process of implementation can begin. The partners will appoint Directors, develop operational and financial policies, and execute funding agreements with Canada and private donors. And the goal is the have funding flow to Indigenous Government partners by mid-2025. ILI will continue to support partners in this process.

“We have tons of work to do, and the journey has just begun. I look forward to it,” said Ɂek’wahtı̨dǝ́ Danny Gaudet of the Délįnę Got’įnę Government. “Our land is our future. We are nothing if we lose our people. We need to find our people again. We have been taken off our land. This signing allows us to go back. It will help us go back to our traditions and our cultures. We have so much work to do.”

In her closing remarks, before the crowd broke for lunch, fiddling and jigging, and a drum dance, ILI’s Dahti Tsetso shared, “My children are here with us today, and they likely don't know how much they've inspired my work for years. It is very rare for an opportunity to come along that has the potential to catalyze large-scale, cross generational impact. I invite you to take a moment to acknowledge the impact these investments can have and envision in your own minds what the future looks like.

“I don't know about you, but that picture gives me hope.”