NWT Indigenous Negotiators Workshop, February 2019

Research Theme: All/Project Lead

 I found the NWT Negotiators Workshop to be very informative and engaging while attending as a student for the Indigenous Governance Degree program with the Yukon University. I was able to learn where the various Indigenous groups within the NWT are at with their land claim/self-government process and the steps that each of them is taking to suit what is best for their communities. The Negotiators Workshop provided them with the space to listen to each other, converse and brainstorm ways on how we can work together as a whole towards the future of our people. I had really enjoyed my time spent in this conference and feel like these are the type of opportunities that the youth should be involved in because we are the next generation that will be leading our people.

- Jasmine Vogt, student at Yukon College 

The purpose of this workshop was to provide NWT Indigenous negotiators, and officials involved in Treaty implementation, with an opportunity to share stories and experiences as a way to learn from each other and understand common issues, and provide an opportunity for networking among negotiators and implementers working in NWT Indigenous Governments. The main topics/questions discussed over the course of the workshop were: 

• Communicating complicated legal information to members.
• Examples of breakthroughs in negotiations and why they happened.
• Ratifying Agreements.
• Preparing for implementation of self government agreements.
• Preparing our youth and building capacity to ensure the spirit and intent of the treaties is passed on. 
• Financing self governments.
   

Most of the participants were Chief Negotiators, their team members, implementers, advisors, and leaders. The workshop also brought together youth from the Sahtu and students from the Indigenous Governance Program at Yukon College.   

Lianne Charlie, instructor at Yukon College, gave a talk on preparing our youth to negotiate and implement treaties.  Lianne made a life-sized hot pink bull moose covered in the Yukon's Umbrella Final Agreement to interact with modern treaties and young people.  The number of parallels and metaphors that could be drawn between the making of the pink bull moose and the Umbrella Final Agreement are endless.