Mid-way through the conceptualization of this project, some of the members of the team visited Whitehorse, Yukon, to participate in a planning event focused on taking our application for Northern Indigenous Futures from the first stage to the second, final application. Many other members attended virtually. We were fortunate to learn from local Indigenous knowledge keepers about the history of several of the eleven Yukon First Nations, and learning community history became an important part of our plans for all future workshops and gatherings. Everywhere NIF meets, we will work with Elders, language keepers and local historians to respectfully ground ourselves in the place where we meet.

As Elder Mary Jane Johnson (Kluane First Nation) reminded us in Whitehorse in summer of 2025 during our planning meeting, the land holds a central place in Circumpolar Indigenous Peoples’ ways of being. “Our land is everything.” She shared the phrase in Northern Tutchone, “Ná t’sin t’ra,” meaning “hold up everything in respect,” as a foundational way to be in good relations with the land and each other.

This site will continue to grow and add additional information as we progress; please visit us again!