Indigenous Stewardship Policy

Read the proposed Indigenous Stewardship Policy.

Throughout the region now known as Canada, Parks Canada’s actions have severed or altered Indigenous Peoples’ long-standing relationships and sacred responsibilities for the lands, water and ice. These relationships and responsibilities have determined Indigenous Peoples’ identities and influenced their cultures and languages for thousands of years.

In collaboration with a diverse group of Indigenous leaders, Parks Canada is developing a policy to better support Indigenous stewardship within the system of protected heritage places. The proposed Indigenous Stewardship Policy reflects what Indigenous Peoples have said is needed to strengthen Indigenous connections with protected lands, waters and ice within their traditional territories, treaty lands and ancestral homelands. At its core, the intent of the policy is to advance reconciliation and support implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Next steps

Feedback received will inform the final version of the Indigenous Stewardship Policy, which will be published on this web page.