Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park is a haven for whales/Parks Canada, Mathieu Dupuis

The Canadian government has announced more than $2.4 million ($1.8 million USD) over three years to establish two new Innu Guardian Programs in Quebec and ensure stewardship of lands, waters and ice based on Indigenous values and cultures.

Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park will get $1.3 million ($990,000 USD) while Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve will receive $1.1 million ($830,000).

These programs were developed by the local Indigenous communities of Essipit and Ekuanitshit in collaboration with Parks Canada. They aim to restore and maintain the privileged ties that these Innu have kept with the lands, waters and ice for millennia, strengthen their role as stewards and ensure the transfer of knowledge between generations.

"(This) announcement is certainly another concrete step by the Government of Canada in recognizing our inherent right to self-determination over Nitassinan,” said Essipit Innu First Nation Chief Martin Dufour. “We are very pleased to continue our collaboration with Parks Canada, and to begin this new chapter with them to promote our culture and heritage with the goal of conservation and reconciliation."

Added Jean-Charles Piétacho, chief of the Ekuanitshit Innu First Nation: “Our right to self-determination must be recognized and we assume it as the Innu of Ekuanitshit and the Guardian Program is the proof: we were, are, and will be the holders of the protection of Nitassinan, more specifically, the archipelago of the Mingan Islands.”

Existing programs include the Wolastokuk Guardians of the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation at Saguenay–St. Lawrence, the Haida Gwaii Watchmen at Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site in British Columbia, and the Guardians of the Nattilik Heritage Society at the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site in Nunavut.

Each initiative at Parks Canada administered places is co-developed with Indigenous partners, who then lead them with the support and contribution of Parks Canada.

Indigenous guardians contribute to the mandate of Saguenay–St. Lawrence and the Mingan Archipelago by supporting ecosystem conservation and protection objectives and raising awareness of the roles and responsibilities of Indigenous peoples in protecting natural and cultural heritage.

Parks Canada received up to $61.7 million ($47 million USD) from Budget 2021 for Indigenous Guardian Programs. It’s working with Indigenous partners to enhance existing programs and aims to co-create between 30 and 35 new programs by 2025-2026.