Dene leaders remain frustrated with federal government

The federal government has not improved its working relationship with Canada's Dene people in the past year, according to Dene leaders meeting in Yellowknife this week.

They had hoped Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology on June 11, 2008, to former residential students would mark a better relationship between the government and aboriginal people.

Delegates at this week's Dene Nation leadership conference said the government continues to drag its feet on a number of projects, such as implementing the Gwich'in land claim, which was signed in 1992.

"There's certain chapters that we have in our Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement that still haven't been implemented, and we still struggle with the government over that," Gwich'in Chief Herbert Blake of Inuvik told CBC News on Thursday.

"It just seems that as soon as we signed off on it, the federal government assumed that that was the end of it."

When another group, the Sahtu, settled its land claim about 15 years ago, that agreement called for the establishment of a Sahtu land use board within five years. Sahtu leaders say there is still no land use board today.

"We do really need it to help us with our permits and oil and gas activities in our Sahtu region," said Chief Raymond Tutcho of Deline, N.W.T.

Addressing delegates on Thursday, Dehcho Grand Chief Gerry Antoine said Harper's apology was just rhetoric.

"The June 11 apology says that they admit that they did wrong, and that they apologize for that. And I take it that things are going to get better," Antoine said.

Regional officials with the federal Indian and Northern Affairs Department said they will the Dene leaders' concerns to Ottawa.