Yukon First Nation: Declaration of the Rights of the Finlayson Caribou Herd

Summary

On 26 March 2026, the Ross River Dena Council (RRDC), the government of the Ross River Dena First Nation in Yukon, released the Declaration of the Rights of the Finlayson Caribou Herd, recognizing the Finlayson caribou herd as a “living ecological person with inherent rights.”

Jurisprudential Framing (Yukon Government Motion, pg. 4-5)
Among the rights recognized are the right to exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve throughout its natural range; the right to ecological protection and restoration; the right to be free from destructive industrial activity; and the right to legal representation and protection. The declaration also affirms that the RRDC has the responsibility under Dena law to defend and uphold these rights on behalf of the herd, and affirms its role as guardian of the herd and sacred protectors of the Kudz Ze Kayah lands (“caribou country”).

The declaration identifies the connection of the Kaska Dena to the Finlayson caribou herd and that their fates are inseparable. The intrinsic value of the Finlayson caribou herd is independent from their utility to humans. Kaska laws have always recognized the caribou as a sacred being deserving of respect, protection, and reciprocity.

Legal Framework
The declaration was issued under the Council’s own Indigenous legal authority and states that the herd possesses inherent rights that exist independently of recognition by Canadian governments. It calls on governments, corporations, and persons within the Kaska Nation territory to respect and uphold the rights recognized in the declaration.

The declaration arose in response to longstanding concerns about the cumulative effects of mineral exploration and mining within the Finlayson caribou herd’s range in southeastern Yukon. The Ross River Dena Council has argued that increasing road development, mineral exploration, helicopter traffic, and other industrial activities threaten the herd’s habitat and interfere with seasonal migration, calving, and feeding areas. Chief Dylan Loblaw stated that the Council would pursue all available legal and political avenues, including litigation if necessary, to protect the herd’s recognized rights.

Ecological and Community Context
The Finlayson herd forms part of the Northern Mountain population of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), which is listed as a species of Special Concern under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. According to long-term monitoring conducted by the Yukon Government, the herd population declined from approximately 6,000 animals in 1990 to about 3,300 animals by 2022—a reduction of more than 40 percent over three decades. The Yukon Department of Environment continues to monitor the herd and is a co-management partner with the Ross River Dena Council to manage the herd to ensure that it remains healthy.

Proposal to the Yukon Government
Based on this partnership, there was a tabling of the “Declaration of the Rights of the Finlayson Caribou Herd” to motion the Government of Yukon to work with the Ross River Dena Council to recognize and uphold the rights of the Finlayson caribou as stated in the declaration made on March 26, 2026. At this meeting, the Honourable Currie Dixson stated: “…we will continue to work with the RRDC to determine how best to align those processes and ensure that there is consistency and clarity going forward about the steps that industry needs to take to go through the permitting process in the Yukon and specifically the traditional territory of the Ross River Dena Council.”

Involved Organizations