The Ecological and Cultural Importance of Nááts'ihch'oh
The South Nahanni River watershed in Canada's Northwest Territories is an incredibly beautiful area with great ecological and cultural importance.
The river starts its journey at the Moose Ponds, in the shadow of Nááts'ihch'oh. The upper part of the watershed accounts for about 17% of the Greater Nahanni Ecosystem and it is important as the source of the river.
The proposed Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve is a large relatively intact wilderness. It is home to a number of species at risk that are particularly sensitive to human activities and natural events. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) lists populations of mountain woodland caribou and grizzly bear to be of “special concern”. The establishment of Nááts'ihch'oh will better protect for generations to come these species and the important habitat they need to survive.
Mountain woodland caribou from the Redstone and South Nahanni herds calve here and use the alpine plateaus and treeless hillsides of Nááts'ihch'oh, with its ridges and summer snow packs, for important insect and temperature-relief habitat in the summer and fall months before moving south and eastward to winter along major rivers in the region.
Both Dall's sheep and Canada's most northern mountain goats and marmots are found on meadows and rocky outcrops in the upper elevations of the proposed national park reserve, while grizzly bears roam the area's creeks, rivers and mountain slopes.
The proposed Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve has been used for generations by Aboriginal peoples of the present day Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory. Current archaeological investigations conducted in the region by the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre suggest continuous use of the area for the past 8,000 years.
The proposed national park reserve takes its name from the prominent peak of Mount Wilson or Nááts'ihch'oh, as it is called in the North Slavey language. This mountain has great spiritual and cultural importance to the Aboriginal peoples of the region, particularly for the Shuhtagot'ine (the Mountain Dene) and Métis of the Sahtu Settlement Area in which the proposed national park reserve is situated. The area is also important for subsistence harvesting by Aboriginal peoples of the two Territories.