From Thaidene Nene to the Seal River Watershed: Lessons on how to establish an Indigenous Protected Area from Steven Nitah:
Trust your people. Don't negotiate your rights.
Steven Nitah speaks to Sayisi Dene First Nation about how to create an Indigenous Protected Area in September 2019.
Steven Nitah was raised by his great grandparents on the land around Lutsel K’e in the Northwest Territories. Elected to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly in 1999, he served as the Chair of the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act.
After his four-year term as an MLA, Nitah took the position of president and CEO of the Denesoline Corporation, the economic development arm of the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation before transitioning to the position of the LKDFN Negotiator in the Akaitcho land claims process.
Elected Chief of Lutsel Ke Dene First Nation in 2008, and under his watch, the Ni Hatni Dene Guardians program began. Nitah and his team successfully negotiated establishment agreements with the federal government and the Government of Northwest Territories creating the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area, National Park and Territorial Protected Area in August 2019.
Nitah served as core member of the Indigenous Circle of Experts from 2017-2018, contributing to a historic report, We Rise Together, about “achieving the Pathway to Canada Target 1 through the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in the spirit and practice of reconciliation.”
Nitah is currently an advisor to the International Boreal Conservation Campaign and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative.
Steven Nitah speaks to Sayisi Dene First Nation about how to create an Indigenous Protected Area in September 2019.
Steven Nitah was raised by his great grandparents on the land around Lutsel K’e in the Northwest Territories. Elected to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly in 1999, he served as the Chair of the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act.
After his four-year term as an MLA, Nitah took the position of president and CEO of the Denesoline Corporation, the economic development arm of the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation before transitioning to the position of the LKDFN Negotiator in the Akaitcho land claims process.
Elected Chief of Lutsel Ke Dene First Nation in 2008, and under his watch, the Ni Hatni Dene Guardians program began. Nitah and his team successfully negotiated establishment agreements with the federal government and the Government of Northwest Territories creating the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area, National Park and Territorial Protected Area in August 2019.
Nitah served as core member of the Indigenous Circle of Experts from 2017-2018, contributing to a historic report, We Rise Together, about “achieving the Pathway to Canada Target 1 through the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in the spirit and practice of reconciliation.”
Nitah is currently an advisor to the International Boreal Conservation Campaign and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative.
