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Proposed Establishment of Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve
Another Key Step in the Protection of the Greater Nahanni Ecosystem
Introducing the Proposed Nááts’ihch’oh
National Park Reserve
The South Nahanni River in Canada’s Northwest Territories is critical to the ecological integrity of the Greater
Nahanni Ecosystem or Tuchįtł’á, as it is known in the
North Slavey language. This ecosystem, which straddles
the Sahtu Settlement Area to the north and the Dehcho
to the south, includes the entire watershed of the South
Nahanni River.
The Sahtu Settlement Area was created under the Sahtu
Dene and Metis Comprehensive Agreement. The area proposed for the establishment of Nááts’ihch’oh National Park
Reserve is situated within the Sahtu Settlement Area and
includes part of the Mackenzie Mountains natural region
of Canada and the headwaters of the South Nahanni River.
Not only is the Nááts’ihch’oh area of significant ecological
importance, it has been the home to Aboriginal peoples for
thousands of years.
In June 2009, the Government of Canada achieved a massive expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve within
the Dehcho territory of the NWT when legislation was
passed adding over 25,000 sq km of land to the existing
park reserve.
The additional protection of the South Nahanni River
Headwaters in the proposed Nááts’ihch’oh National Park
Reserve will complement the enlarged Nahanni and
together they will stand side by side – a final key step in
the protection and celebration for all time of the Greater
Nahanni Ecosystem..
Establishing a National Park in
the Sahtu Settlement Area: the
Context
In 1993, the Sahtu Dene and Metis
signed a Comprehensive Land Claim
Agreement with the federal and territorial governments.
YUKON
Chapter 16 of the Agreement is
about National Parks. It lays out the
process for the establishment of any
national park or national park reserve
in the Sahtu Settlement Area of the
Northwest Territories.
L E G EN D - L É G EN D E
National Park Reserve
Réserve de parc national
Proposed Nááts’ihch’oh
National Park Reserve
Réserve de parc national
proposé Nááts’ihch’oh
Greater Nahanni Ecosystem
Dehcho - Sahtu Boundary
Territorial, Provincial Boundary
Grand écosystème de Nahanni
Frontière Dehcho - Sahtu
Frontière territoriale, provinciale
The proposed Nááts’ihch’oh National
Park Reserve is being considered in a
manner consistent with this process.
Sahtu Dene & Metis Comprehensive Land Claim
Agreement
In July 1993, the Sahtu Dene and Metis voted to approve the Sahtu
Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement. After being
approved by the Government of the Northwest Territories and the
Government of Canada, the Agreement was signed on September 6,
1993, in Tulita (formerly known as Fort Norman). The Sahtu Dene and
Metis Land Claim Settlement Act came into effect on June 23, 1994.
Under the Comprehensive Agreement, the Sahtu Settlement Area was
created and the Sahtu Dene and Metis received title to 41,437 square
kilometres of land in the Northwest Territories, an area slightly larger
than Vancouver Island (subsurface rights are included on 1,813 square
kilometres of this land).
The Comprehensive Agreement confirmed that the Sahtu Dene and
Metis have the right to hunt and fish throughout the Sahtu Settlement
Area and the exclusive right to trap in the Settlement Area. The Sahtu
have guaranteed participation in institutions of public government
regarding renewable resources management, land use planning, and
land and water use with the Settlement Area, as well as environmental impact assessment and review within the Mackenzie Valley.
The Sahtu received financial payments totalling $130 million over a
fifteen-year period, as well as a share of resource royalties paid to
governments each year by operators in the Mackenzie Valley.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Chapter 16 direct the federal government to do?
Chapter 16 of the Comprehensive Agreement sets out certain requirements that Canada must comply with prior to
creating a national park reserve or national park within the
Sahtu Settlement Area.
A national park must respect the traditional harvesting
rights of the Sahtu Dene and Metis participants. Participants are all the Sahtu Dene and Metis who have enrolled
under the Land Claim and includes people living in Tulita,
Norman Wells, Colville Lake, Deline and Fort Good Hope.
A national park must also respect Sahtu burial sites and
places of religious and ceremonial significance and historic
and archaeological sites.
Before a national park is established an Impact and Benefit
Plan must be completed. Chapter 16 also sets forth the
requirements for a national park management committee, park management planning and that economic and
employment provisions should be addressed.
What is an Impact and Benefit Plan?
The Impact and Benefit Plan (IBP) lays out the
relationship between the Sahtu Dene and Metis
and Parks Canada for managing a national park
reserve. The IBP, among other things, addresses
the cooperative management of the park, the
continuation of Sahtu Dene and Metis harvesting
rights and economic and employment opportunities for the Sahtu Dene and Metis of the Tulita
District.
The IBP includes standard legal sections on
definitions, mutually agreed conditions that the
agreement is based upon and general provisions.
Cooperative Management
These sections of the IBP provide details on the
formation of a cooperative Management Committee for the park that allows meaningful
participation of Sahtu Dene and Metis through
the appointment of representatives to the park
management committee.
In the case of Nááts’ihch’oh, those details lay out
the number of management committee members
and how that committee will work with the adjacent Nahanni National Park Reserve. The IBP
also describes the responsibilities of the committee and procedural and administrative matters.
What is a National Park Reserve?
A national park reser ve is just like a national
park, except that it is subject to a claim, or claims, by
Aboriginal people(s) that the federal government has
accepted for negotiation but that have not yet been
settled. The Canada National Parks Act applies.
Local Aboriginal people may continue their traditional
hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering and spiritual activities, and can be involved in co-operative management
of the national park reserve.
When outstanding Aboriginal claims have been settled
and all necessary agreements are reached that provide
for the park’s establishment, the park reserve is given
national park status.
Harvesting Rights, Use and Protection of Cultural
Resources
Other important sections of the IBP refer to the harvesting and management of wildlife, plants and trees. The
IBP confirms Sahtu Dene and Metis rights to harvesting
as provided for under the Comprehensive Agreement and
confirms the role of the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board
for wildlife management.
Economic and Employment Benefits
The IBP also refers to creating economic, employment and
business opportunities through provisions such as the
right of first refusal for business opportunities. These provisions are provided for in the Comprehensive Agreement.
In addition to the specific requirements of the Comprehensive Agreement, Parks Canada and the Tulita District wish
to promote the use of the North Slavey language in connection with the park and its operations.
Why is the Impact and Benefit Plan an agreement between the Parks Canada Agency and
the Tulita District?
Chapter Seven of the Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement states that rights can be assigned to designated
Sahtu organizations. For the purposes of a national park
within the boundaries of the Tulita District, the Land Corporations are the designated Sahtu organizations.
The Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated passed a resolution on
April 22, 2009 confirming that the economic and employment benefits arising in the IBP should go to the “Members”, defined as participants of the Sahtu Dene and Metis
Comprehensive Land Claim who are members of the Tulita
District Land Corporations.
The current uses of Sahtu Dene and Metis described in the
Comprehensive Agreement chapters on wildlife, forestry
and plants are also affirmed in the plan. The protection
and preservation of cultural heritage resources are also
addressed. Cabins and camps required for harvesting will
be permitted in the Park.
Har vesting by Aboriginal Peoples
In a Na tional Park Reserve, Aboriginal peoples
may carry on traditional renewable resource harvesting. This provision under the Canada National
Parks Act will be most relevant to neighbouring Aboriginal groups outside the Sahtu such as the Kaska
and the peoples of the Dehcho region.
Traditional harvesting activities do not include commercial activities except for the Sahtu Dene and
Metis who, under their Comprehensive Agreement,
have exclusive rights to harvest fur-bearers in the
Sahtu Settlement Area.
The Story So Far - a Time Line
On June 15, 2007, Parks Canada sought the support of the
three land corporations that represent the Dene and Metis
living in Tulita and Norman Wells, for the creation of a national park reserve in this area.
On October 25, 2007, the Tulita Land Corporation, the
Fort Norman Metis Land Corporation, the Norman Wells
Land Corporation and the Tulita District Land Corporation
unanimously passed a resolution to support an interim land
withdrawal for the possible creation of a new, stand-alone
national park reserve in the South Nahanni headwaters area.
In November of 2007, Tulita District elders met to choose
an appropriate name for the proposed new national park
reserve. They chose the name Nááts’ihch’oh to honour the
unique landmark that is known in English as Mount Wilson.
On February 26, 2008, a federal government Order in Council
temporarily protected 7,600 square kilometres of the South
Nahanni River watershed within the Sahtu to allow negotiations to proceed without new third party leases, licences of
occupation or mining claims in the area. In the case of the
proposed Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve, the land is
protected in this manner until March 31, 2012.
On April 7, 2008, the then-Minister responsible for Parks
Canada, the Honourable John Baird, along with Sahtu Dene
and Metis leaders, announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the designated Sahtu organizations
(Land Corporations) representing the Dene and Metis of the
Tulita District.
In that MOU, the support from the Land Corporations for the
interim land withdrawal is acknowledged and the commitment of the parties to negotiate an Impact and Benefit Plan
is confirmed. The MOU also states that the proposed park
will be a “stand alone” national park reserve and that the
headquarters and administration will be located in the Tulita
district.
The MOU was a key step towards the creation of
Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve because it launched negotiations for an Impact and Benefit Plan, as required under
the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Agreement.
At the same time, the Government of Canada provided the
Land Corporations with a contribution agreement to assist
them in these negotiations.
In March 2008, Parks Canada and the Tulita District
Nááts’ihch’oh Working Group began to negotiate an Impact
and Benefit Plan (IBP) for the proposed Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve. Negotiations are nearing completion.
In July of 2009, community members and Elders, Working
Group members and Parks Canada staff flew to the proposed
national park reserve for a brief visit.
What is the status of the Impact and Benefit
Plan?
Parks Canada and the designated Sahtu Dene and Metis
organizations have been engaged in negotiations for almost two years and are close to concluding them. The Parties must reach agreement on the Plan before Nááts’ihch’oh
National Park Reserve can be established.
What happens next?
Over the winter of 2010, Parks Canada will be discussing
boundary considerations and gathering input from Sahtu
Dene and Metis leadership, leadership from neighbouring
Aboriginal communities, third party interest holders and
stakeholder groups (including mining, big game outfitters,
wilderness adventure outfitters, and environmental nongovernmental organizations) and the Canadian public.
At the end of the comment period, a consultation report
summarizing all the input received will be submitted to
Parks Canada for inclusion in the governmental decision
making process.
Get involved! Have your say!
What do you think is important? What issues should be
considered when thinking about a final boundary for this
new national park reserve?
Do you have questions? Tell us what you think!
Please contact us! Your questions, views and opinions are
very important. Your voice will be heard.
You can reach us in person at open houses (contact below
for schedule) and in writing by mail or email.
Attention: Nááts’ihch’oh Proposal
C/O Park Establishment Branch
Parks Canada Agency
PO Box 1166, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2N8
Phone: 867.766.8460
Fax: 867.766.8466
Email: [email protected]
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© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada,
represented by the Chief Executive Officer of Parks Canada, 2010.