Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation wins Polaris Prize

June 5, 2020

Nature United – Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation is one of 10 winners worldwide of The Equator Prize, which recognizes Indigenous peoples and local communities innovating nature-based solutions to climate change and for sustainable development. The prestigious United Nations prize has been awarded for the First Nation’s 50-year-fight to save a giant swath of land that features boreal forest, tundra threaded with lakes, rivers and waterfalls and wildlife in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
It was selected from among 600 nominations in more than 120 countries, and it marked the first time a Canadian group has won. The N.W.T. First Nation was recognized for its work in establishing Thaidene Nëné or “Land of the Ancestors” National Park Reserve. Located on the east arm of Great Slave Lake, the Indigenous Protected Area spans 26,376 square kilometres “The leadership and determination of the Łutsël K’e Dene First Nation to protect their way of life and their sacred homelands is precedent setting in Canada, and very deserving of global recognition. Hadley Archer, Executive Director, Nature United
https://www.natureunited.ca/explore/newsroom/thaidene-nene-equator-prize/