The Gwich'in Tribal Council has designated the Institute to carry out many of the heritage responsibilities that flow out of the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement signed in 1992 with the Government of Canada. For example, the Institute reviews land use permits for possible impacts on heritage resources, provides input on policies and legislation that concern Gwich'in heritage resources, identifies culturally significant sites, records Gwich'in place names and provides information for the development of Gwich'in Land Use Plans.
The links in the brown menu on this page will take you to the Gwich'in Traditional Knowledge Policy and the legal and plain language versions of the two heritage resources chapters of the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement. Chapter 25 of the main Agreement covers heritage resources in the Gwich'in Settlement Area in the Northwest Territories. Chapter 9 in Appendix C (Yukon Transboundary Agreement) covers heritage resources on traditionally used lands in the Yukon identified as Primary and Secondary Use Areas. Together, the Gwich'in lands in the NWT and Yukon are called the Gwich'in Settlement Region.
