Video

Here’s what you need to know about Indigenous sovereignty

Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous-led conservation are both crucial to Canada’s future — but they’re also widely misunderstood. We explain in our latest video

By L. Manuel Baechlin

June 26, 2025 2 min. read
This article is more than 6 months old

In this explainer video Michelle Cyca, senior editor at The Narwhal, dives into Indigenous sovereignty: what it means, and how Indigenous-led conservation can help to protect our ecosystems. 

We’ll start by defining key terms you need to know. Then we’ll get into the nitty gritty — what Indigenous sovereignty really means, how it’s connected to Indigenous-led conservation and why it’s important for Canada’s economic and environmental future.

Want to make sure you don’t miss our latest work? Subscribe to our channel on YouTube and follow us on TikTok. 

Video source notes

Corresponding time stampSource
00:59The Narwhal: The healing power of fire
01:08The Narwhal: This might be the most beautiful place on Earth
01:27The Narwhal: The healing power of fire
01:34The Narwhal: An Indigenous-led plan could protect a place where birds are thriving
01:38The Narwhal: Can these far northern First Nations protect the world’s Breathing Lands?
02:00Donald J. Trump on Truth Social
02:05The Narwhal: Here’s where Canada’s new prime minister stands on the future of oil and gas
02:53Supreme Court of Canada
03:00House of Commons Canada
03:09First Nations & Indigenous Studies, UBC
06:20The Narwhal: It’s the world’s first Indigenous-led ‘blue park’
06:36Land Needs Guardians
06:53The Narwhal: Over half of Clayoquot Sound’s iconic forests are now protected
08:04The Narwhal: The site of an infamous B.C. mining disaster could get even bigger
08:24The Narwhal: B.C. ministers backtrack on reconciliation initiative amid mounting political backlash

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We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
Yes, I’ll support independent journalism
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
I’ll support independent journalism

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Red text in bold, capital letters: JOIN OUR FIGHT FOR PRESS FREEDOM