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Paul HarringtonBoard Member
Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı |
Paul Harrington was born in Hay River and he still lives there today, though at various points he has also called Pine Point and Fort Resolution home. Like many in the North, Paul is a jack of all trades. He started working at fifteen, pumping gas and fixing tires. Since then, he has been a diamond driller and mechanic, a field worker and land claim negotiator, a heavy equipment operator and highway crew member, and an entrepreneur. The through line has been trapping. For the last forty years, Paul has kept a cabin at Big Buffalo River that has served as his base camp.
Paul’s interest in trapping was sparked by his uncles. “They used to always come around with fur,” he explains. “I decided I wanted to trap. I always liked going out on the land.” Paul learned the trade from his uncles, but also from spending time with old-timers like Gabe Lafferty of Fort Resolution, where Paul lived in the late 1970s. Paul still traps, using every opportunity to pass on what he has learned to the family he has built with his wife of forty years, Lucille. Speaking about his three children and two grandchildren, Paul says, “I enjoy spending time with them, taking them out, showing them their culture.” Recognizing that not everyone has those opportunities, he’s always happy if their friends come along too.
Politics is another through line in Paul’s story. He was an active member of the Hunters and Trappers Association when he lived in Pine Point. In the 1980s, he got involved with the Northwest Territory Métis Nation (NWTMN). Paul was president of the Hay River local for the better part of a decade. Today, he is vice-president of the NWTMN.
Paul was appointed to Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı (the operational management board for the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area) in 2020, one of three NWTMN appointments. Paul welcomed the opportunity to serve on the board, having been involved with protected area negotiations on behalf of the NWTMN for many years. Paul appreciates the emphasis at Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı meetings on collaborative management and consensus-based decision making.
Thaidene Nëné, in Paul’s words, is “one of the last pristine places in the world,” and he would like to see it stay that way. “I’d like my children to be able to use Thaidene Nëné the way that I use it,” he explains. Paul is most familiar with the portions of the Indigenous protected area that are on the main part of the big lake, places like Redcliff Island, from hunting trips. He and his family have also enjoyed summer visits to Pikatui, where his brother-in-law Donny Morin has a camp. Paul has welcomed the opportunity to spend more time on the land in Thaidene Nëné through his involvement with Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı.
Paul sees Thaidene Nëné as a stronghold for Indigenous peoples. “There have always been Chipewyan people in this area and that will continue forever now,” he says. More than that, though, Thaidene Nëné ensures that Indigenous peoples “have a say over what happens with the lands and the waters” and “are involved in taking care of this land.” As Paul sees it, “This land is not really ours. We’ve been put here to look after it. If we look after it, it will look after us.”
Paul’s interest in trapping was sparked by his uncles. “They used to always come around with fur,” he explains. “I decided I wanted to trap. I always liked going out on the land.” Paul learned the trade from his uncles, but also from spending time with old-timers like Gabe Lafferty of Fort Resolution, where Paul lived in the late 1970s. Paul still traps, using every opportunity to pass on what he has learned to the family he has built with his wife of forty years, Lucille. Speaking about his three children and two grandchildren, Paul says, “I enjoy spending time with them, taking them out, showing them their culture.” Recognizing that not everyone has those opportunities, he’s always happy if their friends come along too.
Politics is another through line in Paul’s story. He was an active member of the Hunters and Trappers Association when he lived in Pine Point. In the 1980s, he got involved with the Northwest Territory Métis Nation (NWTMN). Paul was president of the Hay River local for the better part of a decade. Today, he is vice-president of the NWTMN.
Paul was appointed to Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı (the operational management board for the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area) in 2020, one of three NWTMN appointments. Paul welcomed the opportunity to serve on the board, having been involved with protected area negotiations on behalf of the NWTMN for many years. Paul appreciates the emphasis at Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı meetings on collaborative management and consensus-based decision making.
Thaidene Nëné, in Paul’s words, is “one of the last pristine places in the world,” and he would like to see it stay that way. “I’d like my children to be able to use Thaidene Nëné the way that I use it,” he explains. Paul is most familiar with the portions of the Indigenous protected area that are on the main part of the big lake, places like Redcliff Island, from hunting trips. He and his family have also enjoyed summer visits to Pikatui, where his brother-in-law Donny Morin has a camp. Paul has welcomed the opportunity to spend more time on the land in Thaidene Nëné through his involvement with Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı.
Paul sees Thaidene Nëné as a stronghold for Indigenous peoples. “There have always been Chipewyan people in this area and that will continue forever now,” he says. More than that, though, Thaidene Nëné ensures that Indigenous peoples “have a say over what happens with the lands and the waters” and “are involved in taking care of this land.” As Paul sees it, “This land is not really ours. We’ve been put here to look after it. If we look after it, it will look after us.”