Vuntut Gwitchin Final Agreement

The First Nation`s final agreements include the actual legal agreements of the three parties, the federal government, the Government of Yukon and each First Nation. These agreements are protected by the Constitution and can only be amended with the agreement of the three parties. They are often referred to as “modern contracts.” The FNFA contains all the provisions of umbrella`s final agreement, with the addition of “specific provisions” applicable to each First Nation. Final agreements designate settlement areas and address economic, wildlife, land and resource management issues, and other issues such as inheritance. negotiations between Yukon First Nations and the Government of Canada; and later with the Government of Yukon for the next 20 years until the signing of the Umbrella Final Agreement in 1993. This document served as a basis for the final and autonomous individual agreements, which would follow immediately and in the years to come. The Ta`an Kwach`an signed their contracts in 2002, 100 years after the boss`s letter. White River First Nation, Ross River Dena Council and Liard First Nation are the other Yukon First Nations that have no agreements. Brief description of the claim area: We live in the northernmost community of Old Crow, located 128 km (80 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, at the confluence of the Crow and Porcupine Rivers in the Canadian territory of Yukon. In 1973, an organization called the Yukon Aboriginal Brotherhood (now the Council of Yukon First Nations), led by Chief Elijah Smith, travelled to Ottawa to present a proposal entitled Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow. This document laid the foundation for the negotiation of land claims and self-government for Yukon First Nations. Strategically placed by Gwitchin elders to straddle the seasonal migration routes of the 150,000 to 180,000 herds of Porcupine caribou (so called because of the crossing of the Porcupine River during their fall and spring migrations), Gwitchin villages still depend on this magnificent herd for food, clothing and various trades. Porcupine caribou are the center of the Gwitchin culture.

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