Albert Ruben Sr.

I think we broke new ground in a couple of areas. One of the big things that we were looking for right from the get-go was a co-management system with Parks Canada for Tuktut Nogait.

You know—caribou is one of our traditional main staples. So, the important thing to me whether it’s for our Elders, or us, or our future generations, is that we accomplished what we set out to do. And that main thing that we set out to do, was to protect that caribou calving grounds. You know, for a while there was some development interest in our area? We wanted to make sure that if there was going to be any development in the area, it would stay outside of the protected area, the park. So at least we would be able to keep that maintained, protecting that caribou calving ground for us all, for our Elders, for our future generations.

We initiated the establishment of a national park. Before we decided to negotiate for our park, we sought information on all of the different ways we could protect that caribou calving ground. We found out at that time we had 27 options—27 different ways that we could protect that caribou calving ground. We looked at those options, and we selected three: national park, territorial park, or a national wildlife reserve. After we narrowed it down to the three, we decided we wanted to find the strongest way to protect that land for the caribou and that was the establishment of a national park. So, we invited Parks Canada.

When they came, the first thing that they told us was that if that area became a national park, it’s gonna be only Parks Canada’s to manage. We said: “Hang on. That’s not what we’re looking for. This is land for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. We are not gonna turn that land over to you to manage.” We started walking out of the meeting. They said: “Oh no, come back, come back. We could hold discussions—what is it that you want?”

The first thing that came out of our mouths was: “We wanna co-manage with you, the area we’re gonna establish as a Park.” And they got up! Because in their minds, when it comes to Parks, it’s theirs to manage. And we didn’t stop them: “Buh bye! If you guys wanna go off, and you’re not gonna negotiate this co-management, we got other people we can invite.” And they stopped near the door and came back in.

Every time something from our part came up, they always said they had to check with their colleagues in Ottawa. They didn’t want to make any decisions on their own. We initially had a rough start because we weren’t gonna have them manage; we weren’t gonna turn that land to them.

Negotiating Alongside Elders

When it came to negotiating, some words that parks Canada used, the Elders couldn’t really understand. Myself, Peter, and Nelson had a good understanding of the English language, so we were interpreting both ways. If an Elder said something, then we’d interpret it the way that that Elder intended to say it. We made a point to have the Elders whenever it came to something about the land—because they knew about the land. We were not gonna be the main speakers on any issues on the land.

My ataatak Edward Ruben, he couldn’t read. When he got his paper for the meeting, he would look at me:

“Inuktaluk, this is just dirty paper!” Because he can’t read, he said: “You know what? They should at least give it to me the other side, at least they’ll give me clean paper!”

And he was the oldest. Sometimes he asked us, “Why am I there? You guys don’t need me.” And our point was: we need you, we need my dad, we need Tony, we need all these Elders, Marcus—we need them. While we younger people understood the words, we needed the Elders’ experience about when it came to talking about the land. That’s where they took over.

“And when you guys are talking, we listen. Us younger people probably understand what Parks are saying. We’ll try to answer their questions, but we’ll always check with you to make sure that we give the right answer based on what you say. We’re not gonna use exact words you’re using, but we’re gonna try to explain to them, hopefully, the way you intended. If we started to go a little wrong, you just tell us we misunderstood.”

We always made sure that there was a clear understanding between ourselves and the Elders and the parks people, especially there, because every time an Elder said something, Parks always posed questions and it wasn’t easy for the Elders to understand what they’re asking or why they’re asking. So that’s where we got involved in making sure they understood what the Elders said. But we always checked with the Elder: “Did I explain it right?” So, we were interpreters, as and were.

My grandfather would say: “Inrutaaluk (grandchild), I never been to school. Not smart as you people.”

You know, the Elders have a lot of Traditional Knowledge (TK)? They are well educated. I would say: “Woah, woah, woah! You’re smarter than us. Give yourself credit!” And Ataatak was sitting here, talking about Parks with these people. I could talk because I went to school. But I make it simple; I says (and I point to a map): “Ataatak when it comes to this the map you are the one who knows everything. You Elders. That’s where you guys are smart.”

I says: “Never underestimate that kind of knowledge, because you’re smart that way, we’re not so much.” To us who were involved in deciding who was going to make up the board, we thought of all the bases that were going to be covered. And one of the bases was TK, the involvement of Elders because they have so much TK as far as the use of the land, the land itself, the wildlife… and that’s where we felt that they were going to be the most useful. And we’re gonna let them take over when it came to discussions on those.

“ THE COOLEST THING I'VE SEEN

During the time that we were negotiating, we got to go to the La Roncière Falls (above) and also up the Brock River Canyon. The thing that sticks in my mind about the Brock River Canyon—it looked like castles, the way the rocks are configured. When we were touring Brock, you know it has high canyons? We’re flying, and we’re looking at cliffs on the other side. That was cool!

Negotiating At Whaling Camp

One time, Parks Canada had a deadline that they had to meet and we had to have a negotiation session with them. We whale hunt in July, and the deadline they had was July. So what we did was, we said: “Okay, we’ll hold a meeting in July, but we’ll hold it at the whaling camp.” So that’s what we did.

Normally, our meetings were three days per negotiating session, but because we were on the land and we might have been harvesting while we were there, we told them: “Don’t plan for three days for when you come up, plan for a week. Get your supplies for a week, because even though we’re at a meeting, if someone hauls in a whale—bye, bye! No more meeting!”

The Sahtu Extension

One thing that I don’t think people know is: when we were negotiating, we were restricted to the areas within the ISR, but we left room for the Sahtu in the South and people in Nunavut to the East of the ISR to join TNNP if they chose to. We haven’t heard from Nunavut yet, but the Sahtu people already have joined in with the park in the area south of the ISR, and the park has been extended to areas within the Sahtu Region. When it came to the Co-Management Board, we left seats open and available to other Aboriginal groups should they join our park. Since the Sahtu region has joined, they do have a board member on the Management Board.

Because it was outside of our jurisdiction, it wasn’t us that went to the Sahtu people, it was Parks Canada. We gave them the direction: go talk to the Sahtu and see if they’re interested in extending the park south of our ISR. And the reason we did that was because the caribou migrates, and we wanted to leave it open to extend the park boundary to part of the migration corridor, mainly to the South. When we had this park established (which we are now co-managing) we accomplished what we always wanted to do, which was to protect that caribou calving ground.

The Future Of Tnnp

If we had our way—I’d like to see nothing new except what we negotiated for. When we were negotiating with Parks Canada, their main theme was tourism. But, the very primary reason we negotiated for that park was to protect the caribou calving ground. Everything else was secondary, whether it’s tourism, or archaeological research, or whatever. All that stuff that parks Canada has as main interests in maintaining or developing national parks to us became secondary—everything else.

During our negotiations, when we negotiated with Parks Canada, we timelined all of the areas that were of importance to us, as local negotiators. I haven’t been involved in the Board for years, but I was one of the first. We the negotiators laid all the groundwork for what needs to be done in the park. The current joint committee doesn’t have to negotiate for anything—all they have to do is implement.

When you’re negotiating for the park, we made decisions about what was important to us at that time. But you know, as time goes by, things change. So that advice I’d give the next generation is: realize the changes and work with those changes to continue doing what we intended to do. Never forget why that land is established as a park: for the protection of the caribou calving area. And if you have to make changes, make changes, whatever might need to be done for that time of day—but never forget that important reason why that park is.