Ross River Dena propose Indigenous protected area in Yukon

The Ross River Dena Council is doubling down on work to establish an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area, according to the First Nation's chief.

"It's a pretty important area that we need to conserve to protect our interests for future generations," Dylan Loblaw told CBC News. "We need to have that balance."

According to a funding proposal to the Canada Nature Fund, the First Nation wants to protect roughly 41,000 square-kilometres in central-east Yukon. The proposed area would extend from the Pelly River valley to the Selwyn-Mackenzie Mountains along the continental divide. The First Nation's group trapline — used by community members for generations — comprises a significant portion.

The area contains everything from mineral licks to alpine meadows, headwaters and vast wetlands and provides habitat for several sensitive species, including Chinook salmon, whose numbers are critically low, and the at-risk Finlayson caribou herd. Throughout the region are ancient Kaska battlegrounds, caribou fences, gravesites and settlements.

Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), while identified by Indigenous nations, often involve agreements struck with Crown governments which typically help fund operations, including land guardian programs. Whether those agreements come to fruition usually hinges on governments endorsing the model.

The concept dates back to 2018, when the Indigenous Circle of Experts, a federally-funded group, produced a report defining IPCAs, including that they be Indigenous-led, help Indigenous people reconnect with the land and conserve cultural keystone species — all to line up with Ottawa's own conservation and climate change targets.

IPCAs have yet to be established in the Yukon despite the territory's closest Canadian neighbours — B.C. and the N.W.T. — already moving ahead with them.

Loblaw said the Ross River Dena are going to change that.

"We're working on finishing it up, so we can present it to our counterparts there in the governments," he said. 

"We were hoping to deliver [the proposal] last year, but the way time flies — we'd like to see it happen any day now."

A spokesperson with Environment Yukon didn't immediately return requests for comment. 

What does the proposal look like?

The proposal outlines why this tract of land, which accounts for roughly eight per cent of the Yukon's land mass, should be protected.

"The proposed designation is of tremendous cultural importance," the proposal states. "This is exemplified by the network of trails, villages, battle sites, and other sacred and historic sites found within the area."

At least six large battles happened in the region, states the proposal, which adds there are numerous historical villages along several water bodies, including Ross River itself, Pelly Banks and Wolverine Lakes.

Sacred sites include a flat-top mountain called Tega Ki — or "Marten House" — where ancestors of the Ross River Dena would host ceremonies and spiritual gatherings.

The proposal says wetlands found in the Ross River area are some of the territory's most important. They act as staging grounds for songbirds and river running whitefish, which tend to congregate in lakes. The areas are also important hunting and gathering grounds.

The proposal states large mammals such as caribou, grizzly bears and wolverines require vast ranges, because food is relatively sparse.

"The goal of the Ross River protected area is conserve, as much as possible, full populations of these species so that their future will not be dependent on landscapes outside of the protected area," the proposal states. 

Seeds of sovereignty

The motivation behind the proposal isn't limited to protecting the land. It goes much further, saying the aim is to "implement Indigenous self-governance, including the inherent role as land stewards."

The Ross River Dena have long been opposed to settling land claims under the Yukon's Umbrella Final Agreement, which asks participating First Nation to "cede, release and surrender" rights and title over non-settlement land — or traditional territories.

Derrick Redies, a former councillor with the First Nation, said having an IPCA would help assert the First Nation's sovereignty over its traditional lands.

"What it would do, essentially, is give us a bit of authority in our traditional territories, something that's been withheld from our nation for a long time," he said. "Participating in an Indigenous-led area would definitely give us a say over parts of our traditional area that we hold very near and dear and sacred."

Councillor Roberta Dick has a similar perspective.

"With these [IPCAs] put in place we could govern our own land and our own water and our own animals," she said. "I think it's really important because there's certain areas that need to be protected, left untouched.

"Just leave [it] the way it is."