Northwest Territories

View of mountains and valleys covered in brush and trees. — Gathering Place Nío Nę P’ęnę́, in the Northwest Territories, has long been a gathering place and a source of traditional knowledge and practices. © Ken Geiger/TNC

Working Together to Protect Wildlife and Sacred Places

In the Northwest Territories, we're supporting Indigenous Nations and communities as they blend conservation science with traditional knowledge to advance large-scale protection and sustainable management.

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Our Stories

A field of Fireweed flowers blooming in a field.

Uniting Knowledge Systems

New tools integrate science and Indigenous knowledge to protect sacred places and caribou in the Northwest Territories.

aerial view of a snow-covered landscape with snowmobile tracks, a cabin, a few people, and trees

Respectful Hunting and Knowledge Sharing

For the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation, a community hunt and culture camp in Thaidene Nëné is an opportunity to harvest and share knowledge on the land.

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Nahidik Research Expedition

In a program for Indigenous youth led by Nature United, Northern Youth Leadership and Arctic Research Foundation, students from the community of Łutsël K’é Dene sail aboard a research vessel on Tu Nedhé (also known as Great Slave Lake)—the deepest lake in North America and one of the world’s largest freshwater bodies.

By Tracey Williams

a caribou on yellow-green grasses near a wetland

Thaidene Nene: Largest Indigenous-Led Protected Land Area

In 2019, the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation signed Establishment Agreements with Parks Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories that marked a historic milestone for Thaidene Nëné. But the work didn't stop there. Today, Łutsël K’é is showing the world what is possible through Indigenous-led conservation.