Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian says he is disappointed a man at the centre of a dispute in Lindberg Landing was given a “gentle slap on the wrist.”
Last week, the NWT Supreme Court found Clinton Leussink guilty of civil contempt and ordered him to pay $2,500 in fines for failing to follow court orders to remove all obstructions and not interfere with road access to the isolated area, in the Dehcho region.
The NWT government had sought to have Leussink also found in criminal contempt, which it argued should result in jail time. The GNWT further wanted the court to order Leussink to pay for the costs of removing obstructions.
“This fine of $2,500 is ridiculous in the face of brazen, violent contempt of court,” Grand Chief Norwegian said in a Wednesday press release. “It seems that when white thugs attack Dene and Dene property, the courts bend over backwards to be lenient with them.”
Leussink has denied wrongdoing and rejected the suggestion that he was involved in any such attack.
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In August 2025, the NWT Supreme Court ordered Leussink to remove a gate at the main access road to Lindberg Landing off Highway 7, among other obstructions.
Leussink maintains he was not involved in an incident the following month, after the territorial government hired Nogha Enterprises – the economic development arm of the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation – to remove the gate. Having completed that work, the company’s equipment was vandalized, with the First Nation estimating the damages of more than $100,000.
Police have not charged anyone in connection to the vandalism.
Norwegian alleged the NWT government’s failure to act on historical grievances had “fostered the current situation and emboldened people to break the law.”
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‘Uninvited people’
Lindberg Landing is part of a larger area subject to an interim land withdrawal, which protects the land from further development during the Dehcho land claim process.
The area has been described as having historical and cultural significance to Indigenous people in the region, who say they have long hunted and fished there.
Last week’s court decision is the latest development amid increasing tensions and conflict in the area.
Norwegian told Cabin Radio he ultimately wants to see leases in Lindberg Landing terminated and the tenants evicted. He alleged the leaseholders have been poor land managers and have not shown respect for Indigenous people who have long lived in the region.
“We just don’t want these guys around. We don’t want to have nothing to do with them,” he said. “They’re just uninvited people.”
Leussink’s lawyer, James Kitchen, previously described the latest court ruling as a “partial win” on the grounds that Leussink would not have to go to jail nor pay “tens of thousands of dollars” for the obstruction removal work.
