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Gwich'in Tribal Council

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Gwichʼin Tribal Council
Indigenous organization
Official logo of Gwichʼin Tribal Council
GTC jurisdiction
GTC jurisdiction
CountryCanada
TerritoryNorthwest Territories
Territorial ridingMackenzie Delta
EstablishedApril 22, 1992
Government
 • Grand ChiefKen Kyikavichik
 • Deputy Grand ChiefKristine McLeod
 • CommunitiesAklavik
Fort McPherson
Inuvik
Tsiigehtchic
Population
 (2016)
 • Total1,860
WebsiteOfficial website

The Gwichʼin Tribal Council is a First Nations organization representing the Gwichʼin people in the Mackenzie River Delta of the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1992 with the final ratification of the Gwichʼin Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement with the Government of Canada. Negotiations to achieve a Final Agreement, and thus, Gwichʼin self-government, are ongoing.

History

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The Gwichʼin people have been present in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories since time immemorial. In 1921, chiefs and headmen representing the Gwichʼin (then known as the Loucheux) population in the Mackenzie-Delta signed Treaty 11, but unresolved differences arose between the interpretation of aboriginal and treaty rights by the Gwichʼin and by Canada, and many obligations were never fulfilled. To provide certainty and clarity of rights to land ownership, and to ensure various rights and benefits to the Gwichʼin people, the Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement was signed as a modern treaty on April 22, 1992.[2]

In September 2023, the Biden administration cancelled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, for which Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, thanked the administration.[3]

Designated Gwich'in Organizations

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The Gwitch'in Tribal Council represents the four Gwitch'in communities in the Gwitch'in Settlement Area of the Northwest Territories, known as Designated Gwich'in Organizations (DGOs):[4]

Gwitch'in communities in Alaska and Yukon are not members of the Gwitch'in Tribal Council.

Powers and responsibilities

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Although not a full self-government, the Gwichʼin Tribal Council has authority over planning and conservation within its jurisdiction, and exercises full ownership of various lands and organizations. These holdings include subsurface rights to certain parcels in the NWT, as well as the Gwichʼin Development Corporation and Gwichʼin Settlement Corporation. An additional Yukon Transboundary Agreement extends some of these rights into a part of neighbouring Yukon, provided that other First Nations in that jurisdiction are co-operated with.[5]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Government of the Northwest Territories. "NWT Indigenous Governments". Retrieved 2019-06-09.
  2. ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (1992). Gwichʼin Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement. Vol. I. ISBN 0-662-19484-5.
  3. ^ BECKY BOHRER, MATTHEW DALY AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (2023-09-07). "Biden administration cancels 7 remaining oil and gas leases Trump gave in Alaska's Arctic Refuge". Fortune. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  4. ^ "Designated Gwich'in Organizations". GWICH'IN TRIBAL COUNCIL. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Gwichʼin Self-Government". July 2017. Retrieved 2019-06-09.

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