Publications
Canadians’ Thoughts on Wildfire Prevention and Response
A national poll, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, found that the vast majority of Canadians are concerned about the risk of wildfire and view Indigenous fire stewardship as important to addressing wildfire.
Indigenous Fire Stewardship: The State of Play, 2026 - Canada
With interest in Indigenous Fire Stewardship growing significantly over the past five years, this report provides a snapshot of where things stand, where they are headed, what barriers slow progress, and what policies will enable continued growth and success.
Shared Benefits: A Value Assessment of First Nations Guardians Programs
The most comprehensive assessment of Guardians to date finds that Guardians programs deliver major benefits for community wellbeing, environmental stewardship, and Guardians themselves.
Myths and Facts about Indigenous Cultural Fire
Many Indigenous Peoples put fire on the land to achieve cultural objectives. We call it good fire because it has good effects on the land, communities, and cultures. Yet misconceptions about cultural fire persist. Here are a few facts that dispel those myths.
Workbook to Create a Cultural Burn Pathway
This workbook, released by the First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS) and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI), aims to help Indigenous Nations create cultural burn programs that reduce wildfire risk and revitalize a core part of our relationship with the land.
First Nations National Guardians Gathering 2025
About 275 Guardians will attend the 2025 First Nations National Guardians Gathering, joined by leaders and allies for a total of 350 participants. The event is hosted by the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and the. In ad National Guardians Network. In addition to providing opportunities for knowledge exchange, the event will shine a spotlight on the benefits that Guardians programs deliver for lands, waters, communities, and the economy.
Moving forward with Indigenous Guardians: Testimony on the Jasper National Park fires
What happened in Jasper is not unique. Indigenous communities across Canada are repeatedly disproportionally impacted by wildfire. In the last two years, 149 Indigenous communities have experienced evacuations. Yet Indigenous Nations and Peoples are continually excluded from decision-making around fire management
COP16 Spotlight: Indigenous-Led Conservationin Canada
COP16 is known as the “implementation” COP, where countries must demonstrate how they will achieve their goals. One of the best ways to move from vision to reality is to support Indigenous-led conservation. In Canada alone, Indigenous Nations lead the biggest conservation initiatives in the country.
Where There Are Guardians, There Are Benefits
There are more than 160 First Nations Guardians programs caring for lands and waters across the country. They are generating wide-ranging benefits–for lands and waters, for health and wellbeing, for communities and regional economies, and for the country.
A Shaputuan Built on Parliament Hill to Celebrate Guardians
The Indigenous Leadership Initiative and the Honourable Michèle Audette, Senator, arranged to build a shaputuan on Parliament Hill. The shaputuan will offer a positive, Indigenous space on the Hill to showcase the benefits that Guardians programs generate for lands, communities, and the country.
Indigenous-Led Conservation: The Key to Sustaining Biodiversity in Canada
Indigenous Nations are leading the biggest, most ambitious plans for sustaining lands and healthy communities across Canada. These plans draw on thousands of years’ of knowledge about the land and water. They reflect the understanding that if we care for the land, the land will care for us.
Indigenous-Led Conservation in Canada: a Model for COP15
Indigenous Nations are transforming what conservation looks like in Canada. We are leading the biggest, most ambitious plans for sustaining healthy lands and communities in Canada. And now we are stepping into the global spotlight.
Enhancing Community Capacity and Evaluating Place-Based Pedagogy in Indigenous Tourism
Conservation-based activities like ecotourism provide Indigenous Nations with economic opportunities that reflect Indigenous stewardship. Many Nations are working to build Indigenous-owned ecotourism companies, guided by Indigenous values, managed by Indigenous people, and following policies established by Indigenous people. This work can be an expression of Nationhood and self-determination.
The Role of First Nations Guardians in Wildfire Response & Management
Every year, wildfires erupt in Canada’s vast forests. Often driven by lightning or increased industrial activity, these fires can consume many millions of hectares of boreal and other forests annually. The strategy, developed by the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, as part of a joint project with the Centre for Northern Conservation, International Boreal Conservation Campaign, and the McCall MacBain Foundation, is offered as a draft for discussion with Guardians, First Nations, fire agencies, and others, including researchers and philanthropists. Further dialogue and early efforts on the ground will help to refine it.
Indigenous-led Conservation in the Boreal Is Key to Climate Leadership
The Boreal Forest in Canada holds about 12 percent of the world’s land-based carbon reserves. Indigenous Nations are leading the biggest, most ambitious projects for conserving lands—including some of the richest carbon storehouses across the boreal.
The Business Case for a National Guardians Network
What is particularly unique and valuable about the National First Nations Guardians Network is the centrality enabling First Nations to come together, share observations, and collaborate in Nation-to-Nation relationships amongst First Nations. The synergies and insights that will come from this collaboration cannot be achieved without support to create and sustain a First Nations-run body to facilitate this form of Nation-to-Nation relationship.
Indigenous-led Conservation: IPCAs & Guardians
The biggest, most ambitious plans for protecting lands in Canada are led by Indigenous Nations. These plans are part of the larger movement of Indigenous-led conservation—a movement that is reshaping relationships between Indigenous and Canadian governments and between people and the land.
BC Poll Report on Indigenous-led Conservation
A BC poll conducted by StratCom found strong support for Indigenous-led conservation among British Columbians. Over two-thirds of those surveyed, for instance, support investment in Indigenous stewardship as part of the BC government’s economic recovery measures.
June 2020 Public Opinion Poll on Economic Recovery & Conservation
As the country focuses on restoring public health and the economy in the face of COVID-19, most Canadians continue to want the federal government to prioritize nature protection. Nearly three in four support federal investment in Indigenous stewardship to help create jobs, build prosperity, and meet Canada’s conservation commitments.
Indigenous-Led Conservation:Job and Economic Opportunities that Work for Nature
New federal investments in Indigenous Guardians and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas will create immediate, vital new jobs in Indigenous communities across the country. They will also help transform regional economies towards a more sustainable future.