Resource information
The Gwich’in of the North West Territories and Canada have negotiated the present Agreement in order to meet these objectives: 1) To provide for certainty and clarity of rights to ownership and use of land and resources; 2) To provide the specific rights and benefits in this Agreement in exchange for the relinquishment by the Gwich’in of certain rights claimed in any part of Canada by treaty or otherwise; 3) To recognize and encourage the Gwich’in way of life which is based on the cultural and economic relationship between the Gwich’in and the land; 4) To encourage the self-sufficiency of the Gwich’in and to enhance their ability to participate fully in all aspects of the economy; 5) To provide the Gwich’in with specific benefits, including financial compensation, land and other economic benefits; 6) To provide the Gwich’in with wildlife harvesting rights and the right to participate in decision making concerning wildlife harvesting and management; 7) To provide the Gwich’in the right to participate in decision making concerning the use, management and conservation of land, water and resources; 8) To protect and conserve the wildlife and environment of the settlement area for present and future generations; and 9) To ensure the Gwich’in the opportunity to negotiate self-government agreements. The text consists of 23 chapters as follows: Objectives (1); Definitions (2); General provisions (3); Eligibility and enrolment (4); Self-government (5); Dispute resolution (6); Gwich’in Organizations (7); Financial payments (8); Resource royalties (9); Economic measures (10); Taxation (11); Wildlife harvesting and management (12); Forestry (13); Plants (14); National parks (15); Protected areas (16); Harvesting compensation (17); Gwich’in lands (18); Water rights and management (19); Access (20); Subsurface resources(21); Gwich’in municipal lands (22); Expropriation of settlement lands (23).
Implemented by: Gwich'in Land Claim Settlement Act (S.C. 1992, c. 53). (2011-10-17)