Habitat protégé Ch’ihilii Chìk
(traduction en cours - disponible en anglais seulement)
Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders have been stewarding wetlands for millennia. Their knowledge plays a key role in the protection and management of such areas. Passed on through storytelling, ceremonies and direct mentorship, the knowledge serves to ensure that the ecological, cultural and economic benefits of these vital ecosystems.
The Traditional Knowledge, held and shared by Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders shows how intrinsically Indigenous cultures and communities are tied to wetlands for health, welfare, and culture.
The knowledge and protection are also administered through Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation’s self-government and passed on through on-the-land connections with youth and Elders and, increasingly, through the local school system. This is how the knowledge are preserved for generations to come.
Healthy wetlands are essential to Indigenous ways of life. From time immemorial, the wetlands provided food and medicines as well as ensured the healthy habitats for animals and plants. Their protective vegetation and isolated locations serve as important habitat for wildlife to feed, rest and raise their young. Healthy wetlands are essential for filtering, cleaning and holding water. In this way, they protect communities from flooding, drought and help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
In Northern Yukon, the Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area is a wetland complex that lies approximately 115 kilometres southeast of the community of Old Crow and is located in Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation’s Traditional Territory. It is 469 square kilometers including Whitefish Lake and contains approximately 1,000 lakes, ponds, creeks, peat bogs, swamps, fens and marshes.
The Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area is of undeniable importance for the Indigenous Peoples of the region and all of the territory. While it is not the largest wetland complex in the Yukon, its great significance lies in its cultural and historical connection such as serving as a long-ago gathering place of the Gwich’in People. Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area is an important part of the homeland of the Dagoo Gwich’in whose traditional lands are in the upper Porcupine River region of the Yukon.
“Ch’ihilii Chìk is a long ago place, lake of plenty, land of our ancestors, the Dagoo people from Vuntut Gwitchin, Teetl’it Gwich’in, Dawson areas who had once inhabited this area with its rich resources in a vast country now known as Vuntut Traditional Territory.”
- Mary Jane Moses
The area was also used by the Van Tat Gwich’in and Teetl’it Gwich’in who would gather with each other and with the Dagoo to share bounty, foster community and exchange stories.
The Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area is situated on a key travel route between Old Crow and Fort McPherson and close to other well-known areas such as Kàachik (Johnson Creek Village) and the Zheh Gwatsàl (LaPierre House) historic site.
The Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area is located next to the proposed Dàadzàii Vàn Territorial Park (planning underway) along the boundary of the Eagle River. The area is well known for an abundant furbearing population including tsuk (marten), chihthee (mink), niinjii (lynx), tsèe (beaver), dzan (muskrat), trùh (otter), nèhtrùh (wolverine), zhòh (wolf) and neegoo (fox) as well as tùk dagàii (whitefish). It also serves as critical habitat for vadzaih (Porcupine caribou herd) and dinjik (moose).
Van Tat Gwich’in Elders identified the Ch’ihilii Chìk as an important area to be protected for future generations. Elders first recommended the area be conserved in the North Yukon Regional Land Use Plan approved and signed in 2009 by Vuntut Gwitchin Government and the Government of Yukon. The North Yukon Regional Land Use Plan was created under the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Final Agreement.
After several years of work, a management plan for the Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area was signed in 2019. The management plan is rooted in Indigenous Traditional Knowledge that describes how these ecosystems and ecoregions are to be used and managed.
Find out more about the Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area:
- Learn more about the area and its co-management with Ch’ihilii Chìk Habitat Protection Area Management Plan.
- Read about the nearby Zheh Gwatsàl (LaPierre House) historic site and the proposed Dàadzàii Vàn Territorial Park.
- Check out the North Yukon Regional Land Use Plan created under the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Final Agreement.
- Learn more about identifying and classifying wetlands in the Yukon with a visual, plain-language field guide from Ducks Unlimited.
