Parks Canada and two First Nations have signed an agreement that points to a stronger Indigenous voice in parks management and opens the door to harvesting in Jasper National Park in western Alberta.
The agreement, which renews an age-old treaty between the Stoney Nation in Alberta and Simpcw First Nation in British Columbia, is to be marked later this month in a ceremony, which will involve the hunting of a small number of elk, deer and mountain sheep.
Get breaking National news
Parks Canada spokesman Mark Young said the agreement is part of a larger move within the agency to reopen lands to First Nations from which they were removed when the parks were created.
He says it will help recreate the kind of ecology that existed for thousands of years.
Chief George Lampreau of the Simpcw said his people were stewards of that land for centuries and are deeply committed to keeping it healthy.
The ceremony will also renew an ancient treaty between the Simpcw and the Stoneys under which the two First Nations agreed to share that landscape and the food and medicines it provided.
- Canada Post strike left 215K passports in limbo – and more delays could come
- Heading into election year, cost of living still dominates voter priorities
- Boxing Day shoppers take advantage of tax holiday amid cost-of-living woes
- Health Canada recalls stuffed animal toys on Christmas Eve over choking risk
Comments