Indigenous governments across the country are working to create protected areas that will sustain animals, plants, waters and lands for future generations. Our nations have enduring relationships with these places and caring for them helps us honour our cultural responsibility to the land. A new report confirms this Indigenous-led conservation can also help Canada fulfill its own stewardship commitments.

Indigenous land use plans have already resulted in the creation of national parks, tribal parks and wildlife areas, often in partnership with Crown governments. When Indigenous governments play the primary role in identifying the lands for conservation, shaping the goals and managing the land, these places can also be called Indigenous protected areas.

In August, I had the opportunity to visit with the Kaska people in the MacKenzie Mountains, in an area known as “Dechenla”. There, a young Kaska became a man by hunting his first caribou.  His fellow hunters ripped his sleeve off as a sign of his transition to manhood, and they brought its meat to our camp for preparation.  That evening, I ate caribou for the first time in over a year.  It was delicious; I felt its energy immediately.  I was eating ribs, which are fairly lean, but I could still taste some of the fat that I love so much.

The Indigenous Leadership Initiative is honoured to receive a grant from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in support of Indigenous Guardians Programs. The foundation is committed to promoting conservation, defending Indigenous rights and addressing climate change. Indigenous Guardians Programs advance all of these aims, and the grant will help strengthen and spread this powerful model of Indigenous stewardship in Canada.

Gloria Enzoe grew up hearing her mother talk about the love for the land and the need to speak on behalf of the water, air, trees and animals. When the Elders in her community of Lutsel K’e in the Northwest Territories began calling for a local program to manage traditional territory and get youth out on the land, Gloria knew it was a chance to honour her mother’s teachings. In 2008, she helped launch the Ni hat’ni Dene, an Indigenous Guardians program.

The time has come for this kind of dialogue. Indigenous Nations in Canada are preserving vast stretches of ancient forest and pristine waters. Yet Canada doesn’t always recognize Indigenous Protected Areas and other designations as contributing to the national system and “counting” towards national targets. More partnerships between Indigenous and Canadians governments can help secure this recognition.