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The Tahltan Nation has developed a Tahltan Stewardship Plan (TSP) through the Tahltan Stewardship Initiative (TSI). The Tahltan Stewardship Plan outlines Tahltan principles for caring for and stewarding all land within Tahltan Territory.

During the July 2024 Annual General Assembly of the Tahltan Nation in Dease Lake, British Columbia, the Tahltan Stewardship Plan titled “Keep Our Trails Open” was presented and approved by the assembly.

With the approval of the Tahltan Stewardship Plan – after a decade of work including engaging our people – the Tahltan Nation is progressing to the next phase, with the Tahltan Stewardship Plan serving as our guiding light.

Project Outcome

Recent policy shifts by the Province of British Columbia presents a significant opportunity for the Tahltan Nation to assert our leadership role in shaping the future of land stewardship. These changes include the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), a commitment to modernize land use planning, prioritization of ecosystem health, and a focus on collaborative plan development and implementation.

In 2020, the Tahltan Nation and the Province of British Columbia signed the Shared Propserity Agreement – a strategic, government-to-government agreement that lays the foundation for long-term reconciliation and greater land-use clarity. A key component of this agreement is the joint commitment to co-develop a land use plan.

To guide this work, the Tahltan Nation through the TSI has developed our own Tahltan Stewardship Plan, which articulates our vision for maintaining the health of the land and supporting the continued practice of our Tahltan way of life, while upholding and protecting our Tahltan Rights and Title. Our TSP serves as the foundation for the co-development of a Tahltan – BC Land Stewardship Plan, which will focus on a specific subregion within Tahltan Territory.

The Tahltan Stewardship Plan sets out clean strategies to implement these transformative provincial commitments and will position Tahltan Nation at the forefront of a new era in land stewardship across British Columbia.

To support this transformative process, the Province has placed a temporary pause on new mineral tenuring in select areas of ecological and cultural significant to Tahltan. This interim measure provides the necessary time and space for collaboration, including engagement with stakeholders, while offering short-term clarity for resource development activities.

Over the next 12 months, the Tahltan Nation and the province will advance a collaborative Phase 1 Planning process, guided by the Tahltan Stewardship Plan. This work will focus on the conservation and permanent protection of critical areas such as Klappan, Level Mountain, Sheslay, and Tahltan Lake. In parallel, the process will explore and enhance co-management and shared governance tools to ensure that resource development proceeds in a manner that is sustainable, culturally respectful, and aligned with the values of the Tahltan Nation.

Project Background

There have been previous land use planning initiatives in Tahltan Territory, some lead by the Provincial government and some lead by the Tahltan. Each of these initiatives collected valuable information about the land and Tahltan’s interests on and use of the land. This work provides a solid foundation, that when supplemented with more comprehensive and contemporary Tahltan knowledge, will yield plans that are grounded in Tahltan land interests and Tahltan knowledge around how to properly care for the land.

The Province of British Columbia has recently adopted major changes that offer the Tahltan a very unique opportunity for the Tahltan to lead the way in the Province. These include the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), a commitment to modernize land use planning, the Province’s commitment to make ecosystem health a priority, and to implement all of this in partnership with the Province’s Indigenous community. The TSLP will show in detail how to achieve many the goals of these major shifts and will help to lead the way to change the way land use planning is done in the Province of British Columbia.