Gwich'in Tribal Council

The Gwich'in Tribal Council is a First Nations organization representing the Gwich'in people of northern Canada, owning approximately 23,884 square kilometers of land in Yukon and the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1992 with the final ratification of the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement with the Government of Canada. Negotiations to achieve a Final Agreement, and thus, Gwich'in self-government, are ongoing.

Gwich'in Tribal Council
Indigenous organization
Symbol
GTC jurisdiction
CountryCanada
TerritoryNorthwest Territories
Territorial ridingMackenzie Delta
EstablishedApril 22, 1992
Government
 • Grand ChiefKen Smith
 • Deputy Grand ChiefKristine McLeod
 • CommunitiesAklavik
Fort McPherson
Inuvik
Tsiigehtchic
Population
 (2016)
 • Total1,860
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The Gwich'in people have been present in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories since time immemorial. In 1921, chiefs and headmen representing the Gwich'in (then known as the Loucheux) population in Canada signed Treaty 11, but unresolved differences arose between the interpretation of aboriginal and treaty rights by the Gwich'in and by Canada, and many obligations were never fulfilled. To provide certainty and clarity of rights to land ownership, and to ensure various rights and benefits to the Gwich'in people, the Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement was signed as a modern treaty on April 22, 1992.[2]

Powers and responsibilities

Although not a full self-government, the Gwich'in Tribal Council has authority over planning and conservation within its jurisdiction, and exercises full ownership of various lands and organizations. These holdings include subsurface rights to certain parcels in the NWT, as well as the Gwich'in Development Corporation and Gwich'in Settlement Corporation. An additional Yukon Transboundary Agreement extends some of these rights into a part of neighbouring Yukon, provided that other First Nations in that jurisdiction are co-operated with.[3]

Footnotes
  1. Government of the Northwest Territories. "NWT Indigenous Governments". Retrieved 2019-06-09.
  2. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (1992). Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement. I. ISBN 0-662-19484-5.
  3. "Gwich'in Self-Government". July 2017. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
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