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Steven NitahBoard Member
Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı |
“I’m a guy from Łutsël K’é,” Steven Nitah says with a smile, when asked to introduce himself. And while the statement is certainly true, he is much more than that. Steven has served as a member of the Northwest Territories’s Legislative Assembly, community negotiator for Łutsël K’é at the Akaitcho main table, chief of the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation, and chief negotiator for the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area. Steven has also been an advocate for Indigenous-led conservation as a member of the Indigenous Circle of Experts (ICE) for the Pathway to Canada Target 1 and was one of four Indigenous leads with the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership (CRP).
Currently, Steven is the managing director of Nature for Justice, a social justice NGO that supports BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) communities on the front lines of climate change by generating financial value of their lands via nature-based solutions initiatives and the carbon offsets markets. His role in Canada is to support Indigenous governments that are advancing Indigenous protected and conserved areas (or IPCAs) from coast to coast to coast.
Steven Nitah was born in his traditional territory and raised on the land by his grandparents, Abel and Mary Louise Nitah, and his great grandparents, John and Marie Tassi. His family lived at Kaché (Fort Reliance) so he knows intimately the area from Pike’s Portage to Ɂedacho Kúe (Artillery Lake) and the north and south shores of Tacheé T'łáázı̨́ (McLeod Bay). “There are many other special places in Thaidene Nëné," Steve says, "but those are the areas that I grew up in. That’s home."
It was as the family travelled by boat that Steven came to understand his responsibilities as Łutsël K’é Dene. “When you’re travelling, you’re listening to the stories of the elders,” he explains. “You’re listening to your grandparents talk about your responsibility to your territory, to ensure that the land is there for future generations, but also that our way of life can continue long into the future.”
Steven’s direct involvement with Thaidene Nëné began while he was a community negotiator. “I was part of the team that worked with Canada to have an area withdrawn as an area of interest for a national park,” he says. “This was part of the broader land withdrawal for the Akaitcho Process.” Later, as chief, Steven played a pivotal role in developing the framework agreement for Thaidene Nëné, an agreement that bears his signature and that of then Environment Minister Jim Prentice. When his term as chief was coming to an end, the LKDFN Council appointed Steven chief negotiator for the proposed protected area. “The elders didn’t want me to be the chief any more,” he says, with his characteristic chuckle. “They wanted me on the negotiating table.”
Imagining and then working to achieve the community’s vision for Thaidene Nëné was a long and arduous process. In spite of delays and obstacles, the negotiating team was successful in their efforts. In August 2019, Łutsël K’é signed agreements with the Governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories to create a national park reserve, territorial protected area, and wildlife conservation area within Thaidene Nëné, which was declared an Indigenous protected area by LKDFN in 2004.
The negotiating team very clearly took their marching orders from the community. “Our mandate, which we received from the elders,” Steven says, “was to implement the spirit and intent of the treaties.” To that end, the team sought “shared responsibility, shared authority, and shared jurisdiction,” a goal they repeated again and again to the other parties. Their persistence paid off; Łutsël K’é is not an advisor to, but an equal partner in the management and operations of Thaidene Nëné.
Steven’s efforts to protect Thaidene Nëné were inspired by the elders’ mandate, but he also worked with his three children in mind. Looking to the future, Steven says, “I hope that the land continues feeding us. I hope we can continue to be Dene. I hope we can continue to keep the language alive, that we can tell the stories of the land in the language, in Dënesųłı̨né.” Steven also hopes that the economic projections the negotiating team and their advisors made become reality. “I hope Thaidene Nëné spells prosperity for our people.”
Steven continues to work for the protection of Thaidene Nëné as a member of Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı, the operational management board for the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area. Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı means those who speak for Thaidene Nëné in Dënesųłıné.
Currently, Steven is the managing director of Nature for Justice, a social justice NGO that supports BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) communities on the front lines of climate change by generating financial value of their lands via nature-based solutions initiatives and the carbon offsets markets. His role in Canada is to support Indigenous governments that are advancing Indigenous protected and conserved areas (or IPCAs) from coast to coast to coast.
Steven Nitah was born in his traditional territory and raised on the land by his grandparents, Abel and Mary Louise Nitah, and his great grandparents, John and Marie Tassi. His family lived at Kaché (Fort Reliance) so he knows intimately the area from Pike’s Portage to Ɂedacho Kúe (Artillery Lake) and the north and south shores of Tacheé T'łáázı̨́ (McLeod Bay). “There are many other special places in Thaidene Nëné," Steve says, "but those are the areas that I grew up in. That’s home."
It was as the family travelled by boat that Steven came to understand his responsibilities as Łutsël K’é Dene. “When you’re travelling, you’re listening to the stories of the elders,” he explains. “You’re listening to your grandparents talk about your responsibility to your territory, to ensure that the land is there for future generations, but also that our way of life can continue long into the future.”
Steven’s direct involvement with Thaidene Nëné began while he was a community negotiator. “I was part of the team that worked with Canada to have an area withdrawn as an area of interest for a national park,” he says. “This was part of the broader land withdrawal for the Akaitcho Process.” Later, as chief, Steven played a pivotal role in developing the framework agreement for Thaidene Nëné, an agreement that bears his signature and that of then Environment Minister Jim Prentice. When his term as chief was coming to an end, the LKDFN Council appointed Steven chief negotiator for the proposed protected area. “The elders didn’t want me to be the chief any more,” he says, with his characteristic chuckle. “They wanted me on the negotiating table.”
Imagining and then working to achieve the community’s vision for Thaidene Nëné was a long and arduous process. In spite of delays and obstacles, the negotiating team was successful in their efforts. In August 2019, Łutsël K’é signed agreements with the Governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories to create a national park reserve, territorial protected area, and wildlife conservation area within Thaidene Nëné, which was declared an Indigenous protected area by LKDFN in 2004.
The negotiating team very clearly took their marching orders from the community. “Our mandate, which we received from the elders,” Steven says, “was to implement the spirit and intent of the treaties.” To that end, the team sought “shared responsibility, shared authority, and shared jurisdiction,” a goal they repeated again and again to the other parties. Their persistence paid off; Łutsël K’é is not an advisor to, but an equal partner in the management and operations of Thaidene Nëné.
Steven’s efforts to protect Thaidene Nëné were inspired by the elders’ mandate, but he also worked with his three children in mind. Looking to the future, Steven says, “I hope that the land continues feeding us. I hope we can continue to be Dene. I hope we can continue to keep the language alive, that we can tell the stories of the land in the language, in Dënesųłı̨né.” Steven also hopes that the economic projections the negotiating team and their advisors made become reality. “I hope Thaidene Nëné spells prosperity for our people.”
Steven continues to work for the protection of Thaidene Nëné as a member of Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı, the operational management board for the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area. Thaidene Nëné Xá Dá Yáłtı means those who speak for Thaidene Nëné in Dënesųłıné.