Dehcho First Nations

Project Name: Edéhzhíe Protected Area Sustainable Stewardship Project

The Edéhzhíe Protected Area Sustainable Stewardship Project is an Indigenous-led conservation initiative led by Dehcho First Nations to protect and care for one of Canada’s largest Indigenous protected areas. Through community-based Guardians work, the project strengthens land stewardship by monitoring wildlife and ecosystems, documenting environmental change, and integrating Dene knowledge into day-to-day stewardship practices. Funding from the Weston Family Foundation enhances operational capacity, training, and equipment for on-the-land stewardship, supporting healthy lands, waters, and wildlife across Edehzhie and reinforcing community leadership in conservation.

Dena Kayeh Institute

Project Name: Dena Kēyeh Sōgadze’ī (We are Caring for Dena Country): Kaska Stewardship Training Program

The Kaska Land Stewardship Certificate Program is an Indigenous-led education and capacity-building initiative designed to strengthen long-term stewardship of Kaska Dena traditional territory in northern British Columbia and the Yukon. Grounded in Kaska knowledge systems and land-based learning, the program brings together Elders, Guardians, youth, and academic partners to deliver training that blends Indigenous ecological knowledge with contemporary stewardship tools. The program builds a new generation of land stewards equipped to respond to climate change, support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and guide sustainable land and water governance across Kaska territory.

Nature Conservancy of Canada/ Cree Nation Government

Project Name: Supporting Expansion of the Network of Cree-Led Protected Areas in Eeyou Istchee

This project supports Cree-led conservation initiatives to expand a network of protected areas across Eeyou Istchee, the traditional territory of the Cree people in northern Quebec. Led by the Cree Nation Government and Cree communities, in partnership with the Government of Quebec, the initiative safeguards culturally and ecologically important lands essential to the Cree way of life while responding to growing land-use pressures and conservation challenges. The Nature Conservancy of Canada supports planning by integrating Western science and Cree knowledge, with a focus on biodiversity protection, climate resilience, and strong community engagement.

Ya’thi Néné Land and Resource Office (YNLR)

Project Name: Establishing Protected Areas in Nuhenéné (Athabasca Denesųłine Traditional Territory) 

Ya’thi Néné Lands and Resources, representing the three Athabasca Denesųłiné First Nations and four municipal communities, is leading the establishment of Etthén Néné Stewardship Areas (ENSAs) across approximately 1.2 million hectares in Nuhenéné, the traditional territory of the Athabasca Denesųłiné people in northern Saskatchewan. Grounded in Denesųłiné knowledge and informed by interviews with more than 350 community members, ENSAs protects critical barren-ground caribou habitat, historic travel routes, and culturally significant lands while supporting biodiversity, cumulative effects management, and sustainable economic development.

Saulteu First Nations

Project name: Restoring Biodiversity and Enhancing Indigenous Stewardship in Klinse-za/Twin Sisters Park and Protected Area

This project supports the long-term recovery of southern mountain caribou while strengthening Indigenous-led conservation in the expanded Klinse-Za Park and Protected Area. Guided by Wahkôtowin, the laws of kinship and interconnectedness, Saulteau First Nations is leading habitat restoration, monitoring, and stewardship activities to protect culturally and ecologically significant landscapes. Guardian and research collaborations integrate Indigenous knowledge and Western science to enhance understanding of biodiversity and restore critical habitats in northeast British Columbia.

SNAP Quebec

Project name: Innu Sister Rivers Protection Project

Since time immemorial, the great rivers of northern Quebec have served as vital routes for the Innu First Nation to access their territory and practice their traditional way of life, Innu Aitun. The Muteshekau Shipu (Magpie) and Mishta Shipu (Moisie) rivers are two major waterways that this project seeks to protect permanently, along with their vast watersheds and the biodiversity they sustain.

Building on partnerships between First Nations, municipalities, and environmental and citizen groups, the project conducts biocultural inventories, organizes community expeditions, and advances efforts to secure long-term protection of these lands and waters.

World Wildlife Fund Canada

Project Name: Advancing Aqviqtuuq Inuit Protected and Conserved Area on the Boothia Peninsula in Taloyoak, Nunavut

Aqviqtuuq is a proposed Inuit Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) led by the Hamlet of Taloyoak in Nunavut, grounded in Inuit stewardship that has existed since time immemorial. The initiative aims to protect ecologically and culturally important lands, waters, and wildlife while strengthening Inuit governance, decision-making, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. By bringing together Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and modern science, the project supports Guardian programs, sustainable harvesting practices, and a conservation-based economy that contributes to long-term resilience across the Kitikmeot region.

York Factory First Nation

Project Name: Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynitamuk (Our Land We Want to Take Care Of) Indigenous Protected Area.

The Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynitamuk project brings together five Cree Nations to explore the creation of an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) across their shared ancestral homelands in northeastern Manitoba. Initiated by York Factory First Nation, the project collaborates with Fox Lake Cree Nation, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Shamattawa First Nation, and War Lake First Nation. Guided by the Nayhenaway Ininewuk (Cree People) laws, governance, and knowledge systems of each community, the initiative aims to protect culturally and ecologically significant lands while strengthening Indigenous stewardship for future generations.