Sahoyúé - ?ehdacho National Historic Site
On March 11, 2007, twelve years of work culminated in the signing of a landmark agreement between Parks Canada, the Délįne First Nation and the Délįne Land Corporation. Under the agreement, the parties will work toward the permanent protection and co-operative management of Sahoyúé - ?ehdacho National Historic Site of Canada (NHS). The site will be managed in a way that enables the Sahtu Dene and Métis to continue their traditional use of the land and provide Canadians the opportunity to experience and appreciate this land and its heritage values.

Sahoyúé - ?ehdacho was designated a NHS in 1997 as a result of consultations with the Sahtu Dene and Métis. It is the first Canadian NHS to be acquired on the basis of consultations and co-operation with Aboriginal peoples. Located on two huge peninsulas jutting out into Great Bear Lake, NWT, this site is 5,587 km² – an area of land approximately the size of Prince Edward Island. The NHS is unique to Canada in that it represents the cultural and historical importance of the Sahtugot’ine and protects largescale landscape features that are deeply rooted in culture and tradition.

For the Sahtugot'ine this territory is sacred, as these areas represent the importance of traditional narratives to their culture. The peninsulas evoke stories that assist in understanding the relationship between the land and the Sahtu culture and values. For the first time in Canada, history lives on in the landscape. Protecting the landscape features that relate to stories and oral history is critical to the survival of Sahtu traditions on the land. This extensive oral tradition brings the history alive and signifies the importance of these sacred lands to the Shatugot’ine and the heritage of Canada.

Signing of the agreement – L to R: Raymond Taniton, former Chief (witness); Chief Charlie Neyelle, Déline First Nation; John Baird, Minister of the Environment; Leroy Andre, President, Déline Land Corporation; Joe Handley, NWT Premier (witness).

Proposed Doi T’oh Territorial Park and CANOL Heritage Trail
In January 2007, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment of the Government of the NWT (GNWT) approved the Doi T’oh Territorial Park and CANOL Heritage Trail Management Plan. This is the first step in a process to develop a territorial park in the Sahtu region of the NWT.

The plan describes initiatives that will guide the conservation and management of a proposed park along the CANOL Trail and Dodo Canyon, first identified in the Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement in 1994. The plan also includes a protected areas agreement which outlines the impact and benefits of a proposed park for claimants of the Agreement. The park planning process was identified as a priority in 2006, resulting in a management plan jointly developed between Sahtu Aboriginal land corporations and the GNWT. The main goals of the plan are to contribute to maintaining a healthy ecology and wildlife population while providing wilderness recreational enjoyment and educating visitors about traditional use. Subsistence harvesting in the area will continue.

Doi T’oh means “sheep’s nest” in the Mountain Dene language. The region represents a blend of the NWT’s extraordinary natural beauty, the culture of the Mountain Dene, and the history of the CANOL Heritage Trail which was built during World War II to support an oil pipeline. Visitors will experience the cultural interpretation of the Mountain Dene and the heritage interpretation of the CANOL Trail remnants; wildlife, such as grizzly bear, moose and wolves; extreme wilderness hiking in the summer, and snowmobiling in the winter.

The proposed park boundaries are prescribed in the Sahtu Land Claim. The park will follow the 355 km route of the CANOL Trail from the Mackenzie River near Norman Wells, southwest to the Yukon border, and will be two kms wide for the most part. It will encompass the wider area of Dodo Canyon in the northeast, and where it passes through a few Sahtu Settlement Land parcels, the park will only be 60 metres wide.

The next steps in the creation of the proposed Doi T’oh Territorial Park and CANOL Heritage Trail will include the formal transfer of Crown lands along the Trail to the GNWT, designation of the park in the Territorial Parks Act and Regulations, and the establishment of a new claimant corporation to develop, operate and manage the new park.

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