Recognize and honor Tl’azt’en cultural systems that includes Elders, ‘Uza’-ne (Hereditary Title Holders), Clan Leaders, Keyoh Ghuhinli (Land Stewards) and Knowledge Keepers

Build healthy communities through promoting our Dakelh heritage, language and identity

Oversee the operations, procedures, laws, powers, and jurisdiction related to Tl’azt’en Nation and any other related activities arising from its mandate

Promote, maintain, and protect Tl’azt’en Nation Rights and Title

We are Dakelh-ne which means “the people who travel by water”. We are part of the vast Athapaskan language family that extends from the Arctic basin southward to our homeland in the central interior of British Columbia.

Our people are Tl’azt’enne – “the people at the end of the lake.” The lands and water surrounding Nak’albun (Stuart Lake) and Dzinghunbun (Trembleur Lake) have been home to our people since time immemorial.

We are governed by a matrilineal clan system, where children inherit their clan membership from their mothers. Our society was once exclusively governed by the clan systems through balhats (potlatch) where business was discussed and decisions were made on behalf of the people.

  Lusilyoo

Lhts’umusyoo

Kw’unba Whut’enne (Granton)

Lojuboo

Today our administrative offices are located in the village of Tache, 53 kilometers northwest of the town of Fort St. James, British Columbia.

Tache has a population of about 600 people and our entire Tl’azt’en Nation membership is about 1,600.

We have an elementary school – Eugene Joseph Elementary School, which is named in honor of one of our ‘Uza’-ne (Hereditary Leader).  Sumyaz Daycare (Little Star Daycare) provides daycare to our younger children, and a Health Center provides health services to the community.

Our people follow an annual cycle of harvesting foods and medicine that follow the plants and animals that are available in each of the seasons.

In the spring we hunt for ducks and rainbow trout, when summer comes we pick our medicines and berries, in late summer the salmon come back to our waters and we spend weeks setting net and preparing the salmon for the smokehouse, in the fall we fish for char and whitefish and do our moose hunting. During winter we ice fish and work on hides and beadwork. Winter is a time of story-telling and educating the young people about our culture.

If we take care of the land, the land takes care of us

Our people have been making a living off our territorial lands since time immemorial. Traditionally we governed and controlled access to our own resource areas such as mountains, islands, shorelines, hunting grounds, fishing grounds, and berry picking areas.

Today we manage two forest licenses – a community forest and a First Nation woodlands license – through our forest company Tanizul Timber Ltd.

Tl’azt’en Nation co-manages the John Prince Research Forest since 1993, where wildlife and forestry research takes place in partnership with the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).

The Tl’azt’en Nation Fisheries Program has an annual stock enumeration program and actively participates in the Fraser Salmon Management Council and the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Association.

Throughout the territory, Tl’azt’en families have cabins and camps that are used for their seasonal subsistence harvesting. These families are stewards of their keyoh lands, where they continue to make their living off the land as their ancestors did.

Article 25 – United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

“Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.”