'Who gave the order?' Dene national chief, MLA want accountability for culture camp raid - Action News
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'Who gave the order?' Dene national chief, MLA want accountability for culture camp raid

On Sept. 13, ENR officers descended on utsel K'e Dene First Nation's cultural camp at Timber Bay, within the Thaidene Nn National Park Reserve and that has the community's MLA calling for a review and apology to ensure it never happens again.

Richard Edjericon says review must take place to prevent future incidents

A birds-eye view of a camp set near the shores of a body of water.
The culture camp at Timber Bay. About 80 utsel K'e Dene First Nation members were taking part in a culture camp on the lake when wildlife officers executed what the First Nation describes as an 'invasive' search for illegally hunted caribou. (Submitted by Iris Catholique)

The chorus of voices calling for the Northwest Territories government to apologize after environment officers searched a utsel K'e culture camp during a caribou poaching investigation is growing louder.

On Sept. 13, Environment and Natural Resources officers helicoptered into a camp of about 80 people at Timber Bay on Artillery Lake and searched the camp for illegally harvested caribou meat, an incident the utsel K'e Dene First Nation described as a "forceful invasion" of the camp.

Since then, the Dene Nation and Tu Nedh-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon have joined the utsel K'e Dene First Nation in calling for a formal apology and investigation into what happened.

Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine called the search "unacceptable."

"Who gave the order?" said Antoine.

The Dene Nation is calling for the resignation of officials who directed and supported the search.

Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine said the incident sets back efforts to enter a renewed treaty-based relationship between the Northwest Territories government and Dene communities. (Olivia Stefanovich/CBC)

The utsel K'e Dene First Nation has said it plans to contest the warrant officers used to search the camp in court, and has questioned the scope of the warrant, since there are constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in people's homes.

After this story was published, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it would be seeking an external review of officers' actions.

Antoine said this time of year is "a really spiritual time" for families to gather and reconnect with the land, and questioned whether this search would set a precedent for similar searches in the future.

"It puts our people at risk because now, you could get one search warrant and you can go to any cultural camp."

Before the raid, officers had found the carcasses of 10 protected caribou with significant amounts of meat still on them within a no-hunting zone about 150 kilometres away from the camp.

Two legs of caribou meat lie against mossy ground.
A photo taken by ENR officers within the mobile no-hunting zone shows wasted meat from the carcasses of caribou. (Submitted by Environment and Natural Resources)

For several hours, officers went through tents, caches, children's tents and belongings and places where meat was stored at the camp to take samples of meat, hair, and bone.

Antoine said the N.W.T. government should have contacted communityleadership to inform them they needed to take samples.

He said Environment Minister Shane Thompson should say whether he knew the raid was happening, and should order an independent investigation.

Shortly after news of the raid became public, Thompson issued a statement defending the actions of wildlife officers. He said many wildlife officers with his department have lived in the North for a long time.

"Caribou are important to them, the communities they live and work in and to elders," he stated at the time.

"Investigations like this are challenging. Enforcement of the mobile zone is an important part of the collaborative conservation measures we are taking to conserve the Bathurst herd."

A portrait of a man in a beaded moose leather jacket.
Environment Minister Shane Thompson. (Mario De Ciccio/Radio-Canada)

'Gross violation' of rights, says MLA

Edjericon said community members are still shaken, and are holding workshops to debrief about what they experienced.

"Our people and our community in utselk'e are hurting right now. You know, we're still traumatized," he said.

Edjericon issued a statement arguing the raid was a "gross violation" of the rights of camp members.

"Based on what we know, I find it hard to believe that such an extensive and invasive search could have been justified. I find it equally hard to believe that no one in government considered the impacts that it would have on the people ofutsel K'e," he stated.

A close-up portrait of a man outside wearing sunglasses and a ball cap.
Edjericon said he was alarmed at how officers in bulletproof vests and tactical gear searched the roughly 80 person camp where the community was sharing culture and knowledge with the youth and visitors from New Zealand. (Graham Shishkov)

He warned that a lack of apology or investigation could set the relationship between Indigenous people and the government back "another 150 years."

"The eyes of all nations are now on the Northwest Territories. Our reputation as a progressive jurisdiction that respects Indigenous peoples and all their rights is at risk," he stated.