Indigenous Leadership Initiative

Strengthening Indigenous leadership on the land and advancing Indigenous-led conservation initiatives across Canada.

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

What is the Indigenous Leadership Initiative? We are an Indigenous-led organization who works to work to:
➡️ strengthen Indigenous Nationhood
➡️ support Indigenous responsibility to the land
➡️ help build a new generation of Indigenous leaders

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

🌿 Across the country, Indigenous Nations are helping lead some of the most ambitious conservation efforts to protect the lands & waters that sustain all of us. This work is transforming conservation, but we can’t do it alone. 🤝 🌎Click to learn the best practices to keep in mind on how non-Indigenous people can be an ally and actively support Indigenous-led initiatives: https://t.co/2yy07QOTeW

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

When the Nathan E. Stewart ran aground, Heiltsuk Guardians were among the first to respond. A decade later, they are still monitoring the impacts and working to restore their territory. In this article, ILI senior advisor Frank Brown reflects on the spill's lasting impacts and calls for greater investment in First Nations-led emergency preparedness. Read it here: https://t.co/5oOoHZSxuH

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

We are glad to see Indigenous-led conservation taking its rightful place on the international stage! It really is a milestone for everyone who has worked to bring the vision behind the Our Land for the Future Trust to life.

[Environnement Canada @environnementca]

1/2 Quand les peuples autochtones prennent soin des terres, la nature prospère.

À la #COP17, la fiducie « Our Land for the Future » a présenté les progrès d’une des plus grandes initiatives de conservation des terres dirigées par des Autochtones au monde.

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

As world leaders gather at #COP17, Indigenous-led conservation offers real hope for the planet, not just through ambitious commitments, but through tangible actions and measurable progress.

Across Canada, Indigenous Nations are turning conservation goals into real-life efforts. One remarkable example is Our Land for the Future, a $375M partnership supporting Indigenous-led stewardship, protected areas, and Guardians programs across the NWT, that was highlighted today in a Panel organized by @environmentca, featuring the Honourable Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State.

But achieving the world's biodiversity goals requires more than ambition. It requires sustained investment and recognition of Indigenous leadership. In this latest reflection, Valérie Courtois explores the progress already underway, the urgent need to close the conservation financing gap, and why Indigenous leadership is essential to turning global promises into lasting results. Read it here: https://t.co/V9Zl92rfmG

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Big things are happening for Indigenous-led conservation in the Northwest Territories! 🌿🙌
The Our Land for the Future Trust marked its inaugural year by launching a report that details how over $18M has already been distributed to Indigenous partners, supporting meaningful progress in conservation across the North. Made possible through trust and collaboration among 21 Indigenous Gov., Crown gov., and private partners, this first year is an exciting glimpse of what lies ahead. Read the first-year report here: https://t.co/v0y5HnUefk

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

We're happy to welcome Coralee Johns & Jolene Patrick as the newest First Nations Women Transforming Conservation Fellows!

Coralee's nearly 20 years of conservation work are grounded in her mother's and grandparents' teachings and a commitment to caring for the land with 7 future generations in mind.

Jolene combines wildlife science with St’át’imc knowledge and a passion for sharing what she learns with her community, and hoping to inspire other to protect ti tmicwa (the land) for future generations.

Through the Fellowship, hosted w/ @WCS_Canada, they will be supported as they deepen their expertise and explore new opportunities for Indigenous-led conservation through mentorship, on-the-land learning, and guidance from an Aunties Circle.

Learn more about the Fellowship here: https://t.co/FYquNNji9M

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

What does it take to sustain one of Earth’s largest remaining intact ecosystems? 🌎🌲
The answer begins with relationships.
For thousands of years, Indigenous People have cared for the Boreal Forest through knowledge, practices, and responsibilities passed from one generation to the next. Today, these living knowledge systems remain essential to protecting its biodiversity and carbon-rich landscapes. They take shape in initiatives like Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), Guardians programs, and land relationship planning.

As the world looks for ways to address climate change and biodiversity loss, one thing is clear: Indigenous leadership is an essential part of the solution.

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

For millennia, Indigenous Peoples have cared for lands and waters through laws, languages, stories, responsibilities, and ways of living that understand people as part of the natural world, not separate from it. And that understanding continues to guide Indigenous-led conservation today. Watch our Executive Director Valérie Courtois reflect on what it means to lead from a place of responsibility, connection, and belonging,

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

What if protecting land included and recognized the Nations who have cared for it all along? 🪶🌲
A new article from @MagicCanoe explores how Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas are reshaping conservation across the country, including Dene Kʼéh Kusān, the Kaska Nation-led proposal to protect one of the last intact ecosystems in B.C. IPCAs show what conservation can look like when Indigenous laws, knowledge, governance, stewardship, and local economies are part of the same vision.
https://t.co/pZAhWAktyq

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Did you know? 👉 A new national poll found that 87% favour investing in Fire Guardians.👈

The message is clear: Canadians want solutions that go beyond reacting after fires have already started, and fire Guardians can help show the way.

To learn more about the poll, check out our breakdown here: https://t.co/jNvcx3GD8A

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Today, on the National Day for #TruthandReconciliation, we honour the strength and resilience of residential school survivors, and we remember the children who never returned home.

Today is a day for reflection, but it is also a day of responsibility. True reconciliation is a call to learn the truths of this country, to acknowledge the intergenerational impacts that continue today, and to respect and uphold the strength of Indigenous Nations in caring for our lands, languages, and Peoples. 🪶 On this National Day, we should all commit to reconciliation rooted in the truth, and most importantly, the love for generations to come. 🧡
Art by Hawlii Pichette

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

In this exclusive interview with @APTNnews, our Executive Director Valérie Courtois discussed the important findings of a new national survey on wildfire. The key findings of this poll are resoundingly supportive of Indigenous fire stewardship: over 80% of Canadians express overwhelming support for expanding Indigenous fire stewardship in the country’s response to fire risk & 87% supported investing in Fire Guardians. https://t.co/QFYIWk1MII

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Have you heard the news? 👀🔥
New polling shows Canadians resoundingly support Indigenous fire stewardship as a practical and necessary solution to wildfire risk. So how do we move from public support to real change? Our new report shows what needs to happen next: sustainable funding, a trained Indigenous fire workforce, Fire Guardians, and policy changes that make it easier for Nations to lead. Read it here ↓
https://t.co/d9JkOfOaav

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Here are numbers that should stop people in their tracks: A new poll found that 93% of Canadians are concerned about wildfire, and over 8 out of 10 Canadians express overwhelming support for expanding Indigenous fire stewardship in the country’s response to fire risk (83%) & investing in Fire Guardians (87%). 🔥

The results of this new poll are clear: Canadians resoundingly support expanding and investing in Indigenous fire stewardship. The next step? Building the systems to make this work possible.
Canadians are ready for a shift, and Indigenous fire stewardship is there to show the way towards a safer future for all of us. 🌿

Read more ↓ https://t.co/y2lMcQkALe

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Guardians often say their work changes their lives. A new study now shows us just how much.
The most comprehensive assessment of First Nations Guardians programs to date found that Guardians programs deliver major benefits not only for communities and lands, but for the very people who participate. Being a Guardian creates purpose. It helps people reconnect with land, identity, knowledge, and responsibility. It supports healing for people and for the places they care for.

Read the full study: https://t.co/FMMraK86qY

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Guardians are often described as the boots on the ground for their Nations. But “on the ground” can mean a lot of things: It can mean monitoring wildlife habitat; collecting data on the effects of a dam on marine ecosystems; caring for cultural sites important for the community; and teaching youth during camps.

For First Nations Guardians, being on the land is part of how knowledge, responsibility, and decision-making stay connected. That may sound simple, but it is also exactly what makes their impact so powerful. Curious to know about these impacts? Click this link to discover the newest study on the benefits of Guardians! 🌿 https://t.co/FMMraK86qY

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Have you heard!? New data shows that for every $1 invested in Guardians Programs, an average of $12 worth of community benefits are generated!

That is one of the many findings from a major new study on First Nations Guardians programs in Canada. It quantifies and demonstrates their many *many* benefits. Behind those numbers is an undeniable, powerful and simple truth: Investing in Guardians works. Read the latest blog on the study that demonstrates how Guardians are one of the most powerful models we have for Indigenous-led stewardship, community wellbeing, and conservation. 🙌

Read here: https://t.co/zbNurFD3oj

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

“What’s exciting about this report is that it’s confirming that the work they are doing is very important for the future of this planet and meeting important environmental and climate goals.”
These new findings confirm that Guardians programs are not only powerful for First Nations. They are also a cost-effective, community-led model for helping Canada meet its goals for protecting nature and addressing climate change. That is something all Canadians can celebrate. 🌎 Learn more about this study here: https://t.co/1iG6Yv5bNE

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

Breaking news! Every $1 invested in Indigenous Guardians programs generates an average return of $12 worth of benefits for communities!

Behind those numbers are the things Guardians make possible every day: healthier lands and waters, stronger cultural knowledge, more youth on the land, better information for Nations, stronger stewardship, and meaningful work rooted in responsibility. They show that Guardians programs are not only powerful for First Nations, they’re also successful models for helping Canada protect nature and address climate change. In short: The message is simple: Investing in Guardians works. 🌿🙌

[Indigenous Leadership Initiative @ILInationhood]

When we talk about protecting nature in this country, the Boreal Forest has to be part of the conversation. Stretching across almost 60% of Canada’s land area, this region remains one of the planet’s great ecological strongholds. 🌲 The Boreal is also home to hundreds of Indigenous communities, over 700. The knowledge carried by Indigenous People has helped maintain its balance for millennia — and continues to guide how it is stewarded today. (Photo by D. Langhorst)