Thaidene Nene (the Land of the Ancestors) is a proposed protected area of approximately 33,500 km2 around and beyond the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. This area has been the homeland and sacred place of the Lutsel K’e Denesoline for thousands of years, and it is an ecologically-significant cultural landscape with rich wildlife populations and unique geography.
The idea of a protected area on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake was first brought to Lutsel K’e by Parks Canada in the early 1970s. Concerns on the part of the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation (LKDFN) lead to the community not considering Parks Canada’s proposal until 2004, when LKDFN formally resolved to enter into negotiations. An MOU was signed in 2006, and in 2007, an additional 26,350 km2 was added to the original 7,340 km2 land withdrawal. Work toward negotiations on an establishment agreement for Thaidene Nene began in earnest in 2010, and is expected to wrap up in 2012.
Wildlife populations of the area include huge herds of migrating barren-ground caribou as well as moose, muskoxen, wolves, fox, beaver, bear, muskrat, wolverine, martin, mink, otter, and many species of birds and fish. Many of these species have supported important subsistence harvesting over thousands of year, with harvest of caribou especially important culturally and economically. The East Arm of Great Slave Lake contains remarkable cliffs and islands and some of the deepest freshwater in North America. Thaidene Nene covers the transition zone from boreal forest to tundra, and includes many smaller lakes connected by rivers containing rapids and spectacular waterfalls.
Thaidene Nene contains many beautiful places that have special cultural significance to the Lutsel K’e Denesoline. It is the place where their ancestors laid 
down the sacred, ethical, and practical foundations of their way of life. Carrying these traditions forward, the Lutsel K’e Denesoline take very seriously their right and responsibility to practice their relationship with the land, promote their culture, and protect the area upon which this culture and relationship depend.
The Lutsel K’e Denesoline have asked CPAWS to help promote their vision for conserving Thaidene Nene, so that those who have never had the opportunity to visit this extraordinary place will know more about it, and those who do access it can continue to do so without it being impacted by industrial development.
Find out more about Thaidene Nene at www.landoftheancestors.ca.
There is an opportunity to protect this area proactively before increased mineral interests further fragment this region of the NWT. This region has experienced dramatically increased interest in mineral exploration for uranium and diamonds in recent years. Mineral leases and winter roads extend to the current Thaidene Nene land withdrawal boundary. Without permanent protection, exploration and development will likely engulf the entire region._and_family_in_front_of_childhood_home_Ellen_Adelberg.jpg)
CPAWS is working to create the public support necessary to permanently protect Thaidene Nene through a partnership between the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation 
and Parks Canada. This includes:
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