by Norman Yakeleya
As the newly elected Dene National Chief I want to take this opportunity to tell the people of Denedeh something about my vision for the Dene Nation and for the NWT.
I have been given a great opportunity to lead, to share with many other leaders, the future of the Dene Nation. My vision has been developed from my thirty plus years in public service.
Many people may not know that I was previously the Chief of my home community of Tulita. Many may not know that I was the Chief Negotiator for the Sahtu Dene and Metis Land Claim. I’m writing this on Friday, September 7, 2018, exactly 25 years since I, and many other leaders from all levels of government, signed the Sahtu Land Claim! That makes me proud, proud to have been able to have the honour of being involved in 25 plus years of constitutional development in Canada.
I like to be creative. I am very solutions oriented. The excellent staff we have at the Dene Nation have heard this from me over the past two weeks. “Let’s get things done, bring me the problem you face in your policy area today, along with your recommended solution, we are all in this together.”
My vision for the Dene Nation formed the three pillars of my election platform: Culture, Unity and Healing.
The first pillar is culture. We are so very lucky in Denedeh in having such strong connections to our culture. In communities large and small there are many, many elders still alive who were born and brought up on the land. We are living our history. In Yellowknife in a couple of weeks there will be the second or third annual “Urban Hide Tanning Camp”. This is absolutely fantastic. We live our culture, even in the big city.
It has been my great pleasure over the last thirteen summers to “walk in the footsteps of our ancestors” with youth from around Denedeh on the Canol Trail. I want to write more about this and I will in the near future. But let me just say this today. I walk the walk, with young people who show some leadership skills, as I know that with strong cultural grounding our youth will be the leaders, the doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers and engineers that help us all to have a strong NWT.
My second pillar is Unity which is important in that many people wonder about the relevance of the Dene Nation today. It started as a land claims negotiating body, following up on the commitments is Treaties 8 and 11. Now land claims are being settled regionally so where do we fit in?
We Dene are all one people, living in the North, we have relatives all over the North, and that includes into the northern reaches of the provinces. The Dene Nation has a role to play in helping us all be together. A hundred years ago people might spend a month or even the whole summer travelling to visit distant relatives. Very few could spend that kind of time away from their job today. So we at the Dene Nation can and do facilitate unity.
We Dene of the Dene Nation are not just in what is known today as the Northwest Territories. We have many Dene communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba whose citizens are citizens of the Dene Nation. They have full rights and they have a say in what the Dene Nation does. I know my role as National Chief is to see that we are all unified as a people. We are all in this together.
The third pillar of my vision is to work hard to help our citizens heal. As a residential school survivor I feel stronger every day when I see so much in the news media about truth, about reconciliation and how teachers in our schools, employees in government offices and so many others are becoming more and more informed about the terrible legacy of residential schools. I know that here in the North most people have big hearts and open minds to learn about this. With knowledge we can all move forward to a brighter future. Unfortunately many of our people are deeply affected by their own, or by their parent’s residential school experience. The road ahead is not going to be an easy one, but it is one we are all travelling together, healing will occur. I will do all I can in my office to assist in making our society healthier.
My vision is to continue to do good for our people. As I was running for Dene National Chief and the companion job as NWT Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations it was pointed out to me that my entire career has led me to this position. I believe so strongly in our people, in our youth and in our elders.
I believe it is fair to say that there is widespread concern among all people about the decline of the caribou in the North. At the Dene Nation we have been working hard internally to understand more about this issue and we have also been working with other levels of government to come to an even greater understanding of what is happening. Traditional knowledge, blended with western science may well provide some answers. And as caribou is such a major part of Dene culture this will be a major focus of my work.
I have been a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the NWT and in that capacity and in other work I have done I have worked with all levels of government, including most importantly perhaps with Indigenous governments. I know how to work well with others and how to get things done.
We are all in this together and I get up every morning refreshed and fully committed to ensuring that all the people of Denedeh, the Dene, Metis, Inuvialuit and the many others who have chosen to make this land their home have every chance to work and thrive in unity, healing and culture.
Mashi Cho