The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) describes standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous peoples around the world. It has been identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada as the framework for reconciliation in Canada. The Final Report of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls identifies UNDRIP implementation as essential for addressing systemic racism and oppression.

NWT partners have instructed and confirmed in letters of support to Hotıì ts’eeda that over the next five years, implementing UNDRIP will be a guiding principle in all aspects of Hotıì ts’eeda operations and initiatives.

Hotıì ts’eeda is engaging in an NWT-wide knowledge sharing project based on UNDRIP, called Ełet’ànıt̀ s’eɂah (eh’ klet’ a neet’ say-ah, a Tlicho word which means “we rely on one another for strength, similar to the top of a tipi where all the poles of the tipi structure meet).

The project involves knowledge sharing events with Indigenous Government representatives and health service practitioners, Elders, and youth. The goals of this project are to highlight strengths of Indigenous governments and how they are implementing UNDRIP, as a basis for developing principles and guidelines for implementing UNDRIP in health research and services in the NWT.

A report on knowledge sharing discussions to date, including draft guidelines for funders, policy makers, and researchers, will be continually updated. A copy of the report can be found here.

Learn more about UNDRIP, Hotıì ts’eeda’s Ełet’ànıt̀ s’eɂah initiative, the history of UNDRIP, and examples of how UNDRIP is already being implemented in the NWT.

All of the resources on this site are free to use and share in your own organization’s efforts to implement UNDRIP in the NWT.