Yellowknife, NWT – The MLA for the Sahtu says a federal bill has been introduced to formally establish the Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve in the Northwest Territories’ Sahtu Region.
Norman Yakeleya says it’s an area of spiritual and cultural significance to the people of the Tulita district and an important calving ground for mountain caribou.
Yakeleya says the new national park reserve is the result of almost a decade’s work.
“We had a number of barriers that the Sahtu people were up against and we had to work through all of this to make what we have today. A historical piece of our history is being preserved and is going to be operated one day by the people in the Sahtu. Hopefully people in the Northwest Territories will have the opportunity to get jobs there.”
Yakeleya says the territorial government is committed to a balanced approach that creates prosperity for the N.W.T and Canada, while ensuring that the natural heritage of the territory is protected and conserved.
He says the people of the Sahtu, the G.N.W.T and the federal government have yet to decide when the park will open to northerners and the rest of the world.
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