Protecting lands and traditions in the Thaıdene Nëné National Park Reserve

Parks Canada's report on conservation from 2018 to 2023

Conservation priority

Establishment of protected areas

Location

Thaıdene Nëné National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories

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Thaıdene Nëné National Park Reserve was collaboratively created in 2019 through agreements between Parks Canada and Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation, Northwest Territory Métis Nation, Deninu Kųę́ First Nation, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and the Government of Northwest Territories.

Context

Thaıdene Nëné, meaning ‘Land of the Ancestors’ in Dënesųłiné Yati, is located at the eastern end of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. It consists of Thaıdene Nëné National Park Reserve, Thaıdene Nëné Wildlife Conservation Area and Thaıdene Nëné Territorial Protected Area. Together, these areas were designated as an Indigenous Protected Area by the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation, adding 26,376 km2 of protected area in the Northwest Territories.

Indigenous stewardship

Indigenous Peoples’ right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned lands, territories, waters and coastal seas, and other resources is a key theme affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ rights and responsibilities to steward their lands, waters and ice is also fundamental to how Parks Canada is approaching the establishment of new protected areas.

A critical area

Thaıdene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area is an area with rich culture and healthy ecosystems, situated within the territories of the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation, Northwest Territory Métis Nation, Deninu Kųę́ First Nation, and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. Additionally, Mǫwhì Gogha Dè Nı̨ı̨tłèè, the traditional use area of the Tłı̨chǫ, overlaps a portion of Thaıdene Nëné’s protected area boundary and provides for certain rights under the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement, such as harvesting. The North Slave Métis Alliance also has been recognized in court as having a prima facie right to harvest caribou in Thaıdene Nëné.

The area is critical to protecting biological diversity, watersheds, the boreal forest ecosystems, and important migration routes for key species, such as caribou. Protection of the area is also critical to Indigenous communities as their cultures and traditions have been rooted in the lands and waters of Thaıdene Nëné for generations. Thaıdene Nëné is the heart of the Łutsël K’é Dene homeland, and a rich cultural landscape that contains numerous places of cultural and spiritual importance to all Indigenous peoples of the area.

Establishing the national park reserve

The national park reserve was first proposed in the late 1960s. At that time, Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation did not support the idea of a national park in their traditional territory so the proposal was put on hold. In 2000, Chief Felix Lockhart of the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation approached the Government of Canada to renew discussions about establishing Thaıdene Nëné as a national park reserve to protect a portion of their traditional territory from development. After many years of negotiations, and the addition of multiple other parties to the discussion, several agreements were reached in 2019 and Thaıdene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area, including Thaıdene Nëné National Park Reserve, was created.

Shared decision making

Making operational decisions about and taking care of Thaıdene Nëné is the shared responsibility of Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation, Northwest Territory Métis Nation, Parks Canada, and Government of Northwest Territories. Deninu Kųę́ First Nation and Yellowknives Dene First Nation, through their establishment agreements, also play a key role in providing guidance for stewardship of Thaıdene Nëné.

“Sit down by the shoreline. See the beauty, feel the tranquility. Experience the peace and the quiet. Hear the birds, the ducks. See the muskox, the moose, the bears in their natural habitat. Our ancestors chose the best place for us. I say thank you to them all the time.”

—Addie Jonasson, Chair, Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı

Learn more

• Creating a park: Thaıdene Nene National Park Reserve
• Federal agreement for Thaıdene Nene National Park Reserve finalized with Yellowknives Dene First Nation
• Creating new national parks