Dene prepare to discuss its nation's future at off-the-grid assembly in N.W.T. wilderness

The Dene Nation will do things a little differently when chiefs, elders and community members from the five regions of Denendeh come together for their annual gathering this year.

The 49th Dene National Assembly from July 29 to 31 will be held on the land at Midway Lake, N.W.T., in a wooded area with no electricity, no internet and no cell service.

Instead, the event will run on generators and people will have to drive five minutes up a hill to access a cell phone signal.

"In our community we try and live our traditional way of life [and] stick to our traditional culture," said Chief Wanda Pascal of the Tetlit Gwich'in Council in Fort McPherson.

"I just thought it would be a bit different to show the other chiefs and delegates part of our land where we do our harvest," said Pascal, who is the host chief for the event.

The site is located about 25 kilometres south of Fort McPherson on the Dempster Highway, in the foothills of the Richardson Mountains. It's an area where Tetlit Gwich'in people hunt caribou and gather berries, she said.

The community hosts an annual music festival there that attracts upwards of 1,000 people from across the country, so there is some existing infrastructure including large tents, a stage, an outdoor kitchen and outhouses.

It's also home to dozens of privately-owned cabins, Pascal said.

Focused discussions

Tlicho Grand Chief George Mackenzie said the location and its lack of distractions will make it easier for delegates to focus on the important discussions at hand, which include the future of the Dene Nation.

"I think we need to have a family gathering once in a while on the land, away from traffic, phones and all of that," he said. "That way there will be more relaxing and more sitting beside each other communicating face-to-face."

A draft agenda for the assembly says discussions will focus on "nation rebuilding," including the role of the Dene Nation, its mandate and political strategy, as well as the framework for a new treaty among the Dene.

In recent years, the role of Dene Nation has been questioned as some of the five regional governments — the Gwich'in, Sahtu, Dehcho, Tlicho and Akaitcho — independently pursue land claim settlements and self-government agreements with the federal and territorial governments.

"Some groups have settled their land claim. Some groups are self governing," said Mackenzie "The ones that are self governing like [the Tlicho] ... We've got to find out for ourselves how the Dene Nation will work for us."

Dene Chief Norman Yakeleya and four of the five regional chiefs will present executive reports to the delegates gathered at the assembly. Other speakers include Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde, Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Peter Johnston and the vice-president of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, Bill Lomax.

Up to 500 people

Pascal said she expects up to 500 people to attend the three-day assembly, including 300 delegates.

"We don't really know how many [to expect]," said Pascal. "We're just going to take it from the first day."

There is no public transportation to the site so the Tetlit Gwich'in will be paying for a school bus service that will carry passengers back and forth from Fort McPherson to Midway Lake. Buses will have to board a ferry to cross the Peel River, a 10-minute drive out of Fort McPherson.

A back-up plan to hold the assembly in the Chief Julius School in Fort McPherson is in place in case of inclement weather.

Mackenzie said he hadn't been to an assembly like this since the 21st Dene National Assembly in 1991, which was held outside of Fort Smith at Bell Rock.