The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, is a comprehensive lands claim agreement between

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in the right of Canada and the

Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...

and

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

of the Sahtu area in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. The agreement was signed by the Chiefs of the Sahtu Dene bands, the presidents of the Metis Locals, the Minister of Indian Affairs, and the

Premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government, although the powers of the office are considerably ...

on September 6, 1993, in

Tulita Tulita, which in Slavey means "where the rivers or waters meet", is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime betwee ...

(then called Fort Norman) and came into effect on June 23, 1994. The agreement is a Modern Treaty which is protected by Section 35 of the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada () is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various ...

. The agreement includes recognizing Sahtu Dene and Metis ownership of 41,437 km² of land in the Mackenzie River Valley. This includes subsurface or

mineral rights Mineral rights are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership (see Split estate). Mineral rights can refer to sedentary minerals that do not move below the Earth's surfa ...

to 1,813 km² of land. The

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

agreed to negotiate

self-government Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

agreements on a community by community basis with the five Sahtu communities of Colville Lake,

Fort Good Hope Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K'asho Got'ine''), is a charter community in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on a peninsula between Jack ...

, Deline, and

Norman Wells Norman Wells (Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional office, is situated on the north side of the Mackenzie Riv ...

. The Sahtu Dene and Metis received a tax-free payment of $75 million (1990 dollars) over a 15-year period. They receive a share of annual resource revenues from development in the Mackenzie Valley as per the agreement, including a share in Norman Wells oil and gas royalties. Negotiated terms regarding the 1944 oil production under the Norman Wells Proven Area Agreement are found in Chapter 9. The Sahtu Dene and Metis maintain exclusive right to trap and the right to hunt and fish throughout in a 280,238 square kilometre area which includes

Great Bear Lake Great Bear Lake (; ) in the boreal forest of Canada is the largest List of lakes of Canada, lake entirely in Canada (Lake Superior and Lake Huron are larger but straddle the Canada–United States border, Canada–US border), the fourth-larges ...

References

{{Aboriginal peoples in the Northwest Territories Politics of the Northwest Territories Aboriginal title in Canada Treaties concluded in 1993 Treaties entered into force in 1994 Treaties of Canada Dene Métis in Canada