The Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement was signed in 1992. The Agreement covers approximately 56,935 square kilometers and includes the communities of Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic.
The Gwich’in Settlement Area has two mountain ranges: the Mackenzie Mountains and the Richardson Mountains. Much of the landscape is covered by boreal forest, arctic tundra and alpine tundra. The Mackenzie Delta is the largest delta in Canada (12,170 km sq.). It drains an area of 1.75 million km sq., discharges 335 cubic km of water per year and carries 118 tonnes of suspended sediment.
The total population of the Gwich’in Settlement Area, including Gwich’in participants, Inuvialuit, Metis and non-aboriginals, is approximately 5,100. There are close to 2,440 Gwich’in participants, but only about 1,400 Gwich’in live in the land claim area.
For centuries, the Gwich’in have depended on the land for their survival. Today, the knowledge they have accumulated is used to manage the resources they control in the Gwich’in Settlement Area. People still depend heavily on the renewable resources of the area, such as caribou and fish, for maintaining their lifestyle and their ties with the land.
Each community has a council that deals with local renewable resource issues. The elected/appointed members represent their community at meetings to make decisions on renewable resource management and planning.
