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Life of Pi honoured with Fort Smith museum exhibit The life of long-time Fort Smith trapper Pi Kennedy now 88 is commemorated through a series of photos at the Northern Life Museum. See page 8. Mining Week 2015 Breaking Ground Check inside for updates on two emerging mines in the Northwest Territories Ava- lons Nechalacho project and Canadian Zincs Prairie Creek Mine. See pages 14-17. COASTAL CONTAMINANTS Mercury is contaminating caribou lichen in the Arctic. See page 10. Northern pelican guardians celebrate 40-year milestone Protectors of the Slave River pelican colony are celebrating four decades spent monitor- ing the unique ock of great white birds. See page 11. Indigenous women taking on cultural appropriation Indigenous women in the North are countering the ap- propriation of their arts and identities through a new cam- paign called ReMatriate. See page 9. V IS IT W W W .N O R J.C A A national award winning independent newspaper serving northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories since 1977 1.00 May 5 2015 Vol. 39 No. 1 PhotocourtesyofAuroraCollege Dehcho Process letter shows land issue with GNWT far from settled By MEAGAN WOHLBERG Both parties are ofcially back at the negotiating table in the De- hcho First Nations DFN ongo- ing land claim process but a let- ter from the NWT premier to the DFN leadership last week signals no movement by the territorial government. Nothing has changed said DFN Grand Chief Herb Norwegian. The letter dated Apr. 29 reiter- ates the original offer the GNWT presented to DFN during talks be- fore Christmas and presented in subsequent letters and meetings. That offer would give DFN own- ership of 33488 square-km of land with both surface and subsurface title or 37500 square-km of land with only surface title plus 17.78 per cent generalized interest in all subsurface oil gas and minerals. In last weeks letter Premier Bob McLeod offers alternatives to the proposed deal which include the same scenario as previously pre- sented or a mix of the two an offer based on a split estate where the quantum of surface title land is greater than the quantum of land with subsurface title. The Dehcho are looking for more land. Based on comparisons to the Tlicho which was offered 39000 square-km of surface title Nor- wegian said an equal deal for DFN based on their higher population count should amount to around 50000 square-km. The premiers letter does not con- sider an increase in land quantum. In my view this is a generous offer that compares favourably to any other agreement in the North- westTerritoriesorCanadaMcLeod wrote noting that while the GNWT prefers a negotiated solution it will walk away from the table if DFN once again rejects the offer. For the GNWT continuing ne- gotiations in the absence of suf- cient common ground to conclude an agreement is a poor use of lim- ited resources and will likely only result in damage to the relationship among the parties the letter states. The Dehcho Process negotia- tions formerly limited to the fed- eral government were handed off to the GNWT last year as the new authority for lands water and re- sources in the territory following devolution. DFNalreadythreatenedtoexclude the GNWT from the process earlier this year and instead enter into a bi- lateralagreementwithCanadaafter the GNWT rst made its nal offer. Norwegian said the option is still under consideration but he hopes more cordial discourse will result incommongroundbeingdiscovered within the next few weeks. Accord- ing to Norwegian Canada has also indicated it wants the two sides to work out a solution. Theyre aware theyve been on thesidelinesandtheyreeagertoget discussions back on track Norwe- gian said. Theres some pressure they have an election coming up in the fall and theyd like to get some mileage in before then. The two parties met Apr. 21-23 where Norwegian said they made enough of a breakthrough to last the few days of discussion. No fur- ther conversations have been had apart from last weeks letter from the premier. See Dehcho on page 3. Steven Gruben from Aklavik receives his Personal Support Worker certificate from Aurora Colleges North Slave campus convocation on May 2. Gruben was one of 57 students to cross the stage in blue robes to graduate this weekend. For photos and story head to page 13.