Indigenous governments in N.W.T. get $21M in first round of conservation funding
Money part of larger $375M federal and private fund to be distributed over 10 years
Indigenous governments in the N.W.T. received a $21.6 million grant to help care for lands and water across the territory.
A news release from the Our Land for the Future trust on Thursday says the first round of funding will go to 20 Indigenous governments who signed the November 2024 agreement.
The money is expected to help study, research, plan for and manage areas that have been identified for protection, monitor species and support language camps, the release says.
However, the trust is yet to specify which specific projects will get funding this cycle.
“People will find meaningful jobs in their community instead of leaving for work. Elders will guide the management of new protected areas in ways that reflect Indigenous law and knowledge,” said Danny Yakeleya, chair of the Our Land for the Future Trust, which is managing the allocation of funds, said in the statement.
“And youth will develop skills to care for the land and become leaders.”
The money is part of a larger, $375-million fund which comes from the federal government and private donations. The remaining funding is to be distributed annually over a 10-year period.
Dahti Tsetso, CEO of the Our Land for the Future Trust, said the amount of funding each community receives will depend on the project and milestones they set.
She said the federal election last year delayed the funding originally slated for this past year.
The Our Land for Future trust is working on building a framework through which Indigenous governments receiving funding can report how the money is being spent and when they reach a milestone, she said.
The trust will also be hiring more people this year, she added.
Tsetso became emotional when talking about how the money will help shape the trust and the future of Northwest Territories.
“It gets quite personal for me because I’ve always wanted to do this work,” she said. “So that way I was leaving or inspiring a potential future for my own children to step into these roles and to understand who they were as Dene children.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Transport company seeks better N.W.T. infrastructure amid road closures, climate crisis, CBC News
Finland: Flooding in Finland is getting worse, new climate report says, Yle News
Greenland: Trump’s distraction from the real Greenland problem, Blog by Irene Quaile
Iceland: Iceland sees security risk, existential threat in Atlantic Ocean current’s possible collapse, Reuters
Norway: Polar heat record. July average above 10°C, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Cooler summer temperatures good for Sweden’s Sami reindeer-herding communities, Radio Sweden
Russia: New NOAA report finds vast Siberian wildfires linked to Arctic warming, The Associated Press
Sweden: Proposal—Sweden’s 2030 climate targets to remain unchanged, Radio Sweden
United States: How the Arctic has been ‘pushed & triggered’ into climate extremes: paper, Eye on the Arctic
