The Government of the Northwest Territories and Indigenous Services Canada have reached agreement to support Indigenous families choosing to be on the land as part of the territory’s response to COVID-19.

The federal government is providing $2.6 million for the “At Home On The Land” initiative to increase physical distancing during the Coronavirus pandemic. Funding will be administered by the territorial government.

Many families in the Northwest Territories have already begun to move onto the land to cabins and camps where they can maintain safer physical distances than if they were to remain in their home communities, reads a press statement.

The funds will support many other families who would not otherwise be able to be on the land because of the financial burden of acquiring necessary provisions, such as wood and fuel, food, First Aid equipment, transportation and other items suitable to their situation and culture.

Conventional physical distancing measures, like staying at home, that are recommended by Canada’s public health officials can have detrimental health effects in some Indigenous communities where housing can be overcrowded.

When equipped with the proper supplies and equipment, going on the land in small groups is a positive and healthy form of physical distancing, an important measure in preventing and reducing the spread of the virus, reads the statement.

The GNWT is asking harvesters to keep in mind the advice of co-management partners and engage in safe and responsible harvesting practices when out on the land:

Be prepared, dress for the conditions and bring a communications device

Always tell someone where you are going and when you will be back

Harvest only what you need

Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) officers will continue to conduct regular patrols and enforcement activities throughout the Northwest Territories, including the no harvest zone for Bathurst caribou.

“We know that our communities are at higher risk during this unprecedented pandemic,” said Norman Yakeleya, Dene National Chief. “Elders and knowledge keepers have always told us ‘a day will come, when we will need to go to the land’ and now is that time. Our people are remarkably strong and powerful, and we will do what is required to keep each other safe. Being on the land is our way of life.

“With the closing of the schools, this is also an opportunity for families and their children to learn more about our culture and traditions and what has sustained us as Dene people for thousands of years.”

The funding will be allocated to :