The Dene Nation has reiterated its call for a broad independent inquiry into the handling of last summer’s wildfires in the NWT.
Fourteen communities and close to 70 per cent of the territory’s population was forced to flee, “so it has to go beyond their parameters,” Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine said of the potential for the GNWT to limit the scrutiny to a smaller-scale review.
“The original nation of families, particularly here, the Dene, operates in a parallel and disconnected fashion and struggles with capacity constraints,” Antoine stated, emphasizing the need for a broader and more integrated approach during a webinar held Monday morning. “The lack of recognition of the role of band councils is dangerous and causes many problems in our communities.”
He also shared his recent engagements at various levels, including meetings with ministers and leaders from the Inuit and Métis communities, where he emphasized the need for a coordinated effort.
“We need to have this coordinated effort with their families, and it needs to really happen at the ground level,” the national chief said.
Ndilo Chief Fred Sangris of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, who also supports a public inquiry, lamented the lack of adequately trained firefighters and the tragic consequences that ensued, including the loss of one young man’s life while on duty. He called for a re-evaluation of firefighting strategies and a more inclusive approach to developing plans and protocols that incorporate traditional knowledge and address the root causes of climate change.
Elder Francois Paulette emphasized the urgent need for federal intervention to mitigate the effects of climate change and prevent a recurrence of the devastating wildfires experienced last year.
A staunch advocate for treaty and Indigenous rights, Paulette has been vocal on international platforms about human rights, spiritual healing from colonial oppression, and environmental protection. During the panel, he expressed his reluctance to revisit last year’s traumatic experiences with the fires, choosing instead to focus on the broader issue of climate change.
“For some time now, climate change has been impacting our people and many more in many ways that we really know,” he stated.
The inquiry proposed by NWT Indigenous leaders aims to hold the government accountable, with Paulette expressing disappointment at the response of certain officials to the crisis. He highlighted the evacuation of Yellowknife, the territory’s administrative centre, and the lack of a traditional knowledge policy or protocols within the territorial government.
Paulette urged leaders to travel to Ottawa with a well-defined plan to secure funding for climate change initiatives.
“The AFN are not the ones that are impacted by these fires. It’s the people in the communities,” he remarked, stressing the need for direct action and support for those affected.
Jesse Cardinal, the executive director of Keepers of the Water, has joined the chorus of voices demanding accountability from both the territorial and federal governments in the wake of the wildfires. She pointed to the current policies and legislation that permit large-scale water withdrawals by industries as a contributing factor to the climate crisis.
“We are in a drought right now,” said Cardinal. “We’re in a drought in Alberta. Northwest Territories is seeing in drought, and so this is a critical time because what’s happening is these companies in agriculture are still being allowed to withdraw massive amounts of water, the water levels are at least half of what they normally are. In some places, they even less than that.”