Indigenous Displacement in Canada’s Largest Park
July 29, 2025 By: Amir Meshgini
A 2024 report investigates the Dene people’s forced removal from their ancestral territory during the creation of Wood Buffalo Provincial Park despite the fact that Dene people had the right to live in those lands based on Treaty No. 8. The article highlights how the “park became an instrument of colonial power in Denesuline homelands after 1922 and Indigenous peoples were expelled from the park in the name of conservation and tourism.” This represents Unit 3’s theme of Indigenous people’s exclusion from the parks.
https://www.nnsl.com/news/history-of-canadas-largest-national-park-reveals-exclusion-of-first-nations-people-and-injustice-7325376
Hello Amir,
I found your choice of article, highlighting how Indigenous people have historically been excluded from being supporters and stakeholders of their own land, very interesting. Although it’s upsetting to learn about the injustices Indigenous people faced historically in Canada. For example, as discussed in the Unit Three reading, “‘Let the Line Be Drawn Now’: Wilderness, Conservation, and the Exclusion of Aboriginal People from Banff National Park”, Binnema and Niemi note that Indigenous peoples were often excluded from early conservation efforts, which prioritized wilderness and tourism over Indigenous stewardship (Binnema and Niemi 724). It is encouraging, however, to hear that in some parks and areas, Indigenous communities are now being recognized for their knowledge of the land and are becoming active participants in conservation efforts. To me, this seems like a no-brainer, yet it still appears that Canada has a long way to go in fully respecting and including Indigenous peoples in these decisions.