‘Who is he apologizing to? He’s apologizing from Yellowknife’

The Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation’s chief questioned the sincerity of an apology from the NWT’s premier over a 2022 culture camp raid as he accused the territory of not listening.

Premier RJ Simpson issued a statement on Tuesday saying he was sorry for the “deeply difficult and upsetting experience” of a raid by territorial wildlife officers at a cultural camp on Artillery Lake.

The officers had been investigating the illegal harvest and waste of caribou inside a mobile no-hunting zone.

Simpson stated the officers had “credible evidence of illegal harvesting in a protected area” and DNA analysis had “confirmed a link between harvested caribou and meat found at the camp.” Nevertheless, he said an internal investigation into the conduct of the wildlife officers is ongoing.

The Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation has spent years requesting an apology for the incident, which its members say was traumatizing.

A day after Simpson’s statement, Chief James Marlowe told Cabin Radio the First Nation wasn’t aware an apology was coming and said it should have been delivered in the community.

“The intention of our Nation was to have the premier go to Łútsël K’é and do the apology with the people of Łútsël K’é,” Chief Marlowe said.

“The question is: who is he apologizing to? He’s apologizing from Yellowknife. Is he apologizing to the people of Northwest Territories, or who is he apologizing to?

“He did it on his own with no presence of the Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation. There’s no audience. There’s nobody. Is it sincere?”

‘Not against economic development’

The Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation has said it will not support major projects being advanced by the territory, including the proposed Arctic Economic and Security Corridor or Taltson hydro expansion, over its concerns about both the cultural camp raid and the GNWT’s broader approach to the First Nation’s stated priorities.

That stance has not softened following the premier’s Tuesday statement.

“We’re not against economic development. We are for it, that’s a good opportunity for our young people. They’re just not listening to the people of Łútsël K’é,” said Marlowe.

His concerns range from a lack of Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation participation in the review of the wildlife officers’ conduct, through to broader issues like a lack of consultation over major projects.

“We want to be involved in all these activities. The security corridor goes in our traditional territory, yet the Government of the Northwest Territories is making deals with other First Nations without even consulting us,” said Marlowe. (In January, representatives of the NWT government, Tłı̨chǫ Government and Yellowknives Dene First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor.)

“The Taltson hydro flows from the traditional territories of the Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation and [our] people are the most affected,” he added, describing people losing their lives because ice conditions in the area have changed.

“Now, that area? We consider it a wasteland because nobody goes there to hunt, fish or trap. It’s too scary. The ice is unsafe. We can’t read the ice any more to go on it,” Marlowe said.

Housing, healthcare and high cancer rates are all issues on which Marlowe wants to see the GNWT make commitments to help.

He said the Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation had submitted a reconciliation agreement to the GNWT and a caribou stewardship plan. From his perspective, he said, there has been little to no movement on either.

“We submitted [the caribou plan] to the Government of the Northwest Territories and all they’re saying is, ‘We want to support you doing that.’ And yet it’s almost three years now, and where are we at? Nowhere,” Marlowe said.

“We have a plan. If they follow up with that plan and work with us, I’m pretty sure good things can happen.”