What is the Indigenous Leadership Initiative? We are an Indigenous-led organization who works to work to: ➡️ strengthen Indigenous Nationhood ➡️ support Indigenous responsibility to the land ➡️ help build a new generation of Indigenous leaders

In this exclusive interview with @APTNnews, our Executive Director Valérie Courtois discussed the important findings of a new national survey on wildfire. The key findings of this poll are resoundingly supportive of Indigenous fire stewardship: over 80% of Canadians express overwhelming support for expanding Indigenous fire stewardship in the country’s response to fire risk & 87% supported investing in Fire Guardians. aptnnews.ca/featured/nationa…

Have you heard the news? 👀🔥 New polling shows Canadians resoundingly support Indigenous fire stewardship as a practical and necessary solution to wildfire risk. So how do we move from public support to real change? Our new report shows what needs to happen next: sustainable funding, a trained Indigenous fire workforce, Fire Guardians, and policy changes that make it easier for Nations to lead. Read it here ↓ ilinationhood.ca/publication…

Here are numbers that should stop people in their tracks: A new poll found that 93% of Canadians are concerned about wildfire, and over 8 out of 10 Canadians express overwhelming support for expanding Indigenous fire stewardship in the country’s response to fire risk (83%) & investing in Fire Guardians (87%). 🔥 The results of this new poll are clear: Canadians resoundingly support expanding and investing in Indigenous fire stewardship. The next step? Building the systems to make this work possible. Canadians are ready for a shift, and Indigenous fire stewardship is there to show the way towards a safer future for all of us. 🌿 Read more ↓ ilinationhood.ca/news-releas…

Guardians often say their work changes their lives. A new study now shows us just how much. The most comprehensive assessment of First Nations Guardians programs to date found that Guardians programs deliver major benefits not only for communities and lands, but for the very people who participate. Being a Guardian creates purpose. It helps people reconnect with land, identity, knowledge, and responsibility. It supports healing for people and for the places they care for. Read the full study: ilinationhood.ca/publication…

Guardians are often described as the boots on the ground for their Nations. But “on the ground” can mean a lot of things: It can mean monitoring wildlife habitat; collecting data on the effects of a dam on marine ecosystems; caring for cultural sites important for the community; and teaching youth during camps. For First Nations Guardians, being on the land is part of how knowledge, responsibility, and decision-making stay connected. That may sound simple, but it is also exactly what makes their impact so powerful. Curious to know about these impacts? Click this link to discover the newest study on the benefits of Guardians! 🌿 ilinationhood.ca/publication…

Have you heard!? New data shows that for every $1 invested in Guardians Programs, an average of $12 worth of community benefits are generated! That is one of the many findings from a major new study on First Nations Guardians programs in Canada. It quantifies and demonstrates their many *many* benefits. Behind those numbers is an undeniable, powerful and simple truth: Investing in Guardians works. Read the latest blog on the study that demonstrates how Guardians are one of the most powerful models we have for Indigenous-led stewardship, community wellbeing, and conservation. 🙌 Read here: ilinationhood.ca/blog/report…

“What’s exciting about this report is that it’s confirming that the work they are doing is very important for the future of this planet and meeting important environmental and climate goals.” These new findings confirm that Guardians programs are not only powerful for First Nations. They are also a cost-effective, community-led model for helping Canada meet its goals for protecting nature and addressing climate change. That is something all Canadians can celebrate. 🌎 Learn more about this study here: ilinationhood.ca/news-releas…

Breaking news! Every $1 invested in Indigenous Guardians programs generates an average return of $12 worth of benefits for communities! Behind those numbers are the things Guardians make possible every day: healthier lands and waters, stronger cultural knowledge, more youth on the land, better information for Nations, stronger stewardship, and meaningful work rooted in responsibility. They show that Guardians programs are not only powerful for First Nations, they’re also successful models for helping Canada protect nature and address climate change. In short: The message is simple: Investing in Guardians works. 🌿🙌

When we talk about protecting nature in this country, the Boreal Forest has to be part of the conversation. Stretching across almost 60% of Canada’s land area, this region remains one of the planet’s great ecological strongholds. 🌲 The Boreal is also home to hundreds of Indigenous communities, over 700. The knowledge carried by Indigenous People has helped maintain its balance for millennia — and continues to guide how it is stewarded today. (Photo by D. Langhorst)

Our friends at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada are members of the Key Biodiversity Areas Canada Coalition, which is bringing back the #2026KBAPhotoContest, and this year they’re introducing a brand new category to spotlight Indigenous Storytellers 🦋 The Indigenous Storytellers category celebrates photography rooted in Indigenous knowledge and connection to the land, from First Nation, Métis, and Inuit creators. So enter your best landscape, species, or conservation photos in the contest (open until Oct 15)! 🏞️ 🔗 Details here → kbacanada.org/2026/08/19/cap…

Have you heard the good news? We just launched the First Nations Stewardship Fund: a new funding opportunity for established Guardians initiatives across the country! The fund is intended to support Guardians' employment and conservation activities on the ground. Guardians programs are a contemporary expression of First Nations’ ancestral responsibility to care for the land, and we want to do our part to help support this important work. 🤎 So spread the word and send this to a guardian near you! Find more info and apply here: ilinationhood.ca/guardians-f…

Guardians programs interested in applying to the new First Nations Stewardship Fund: join us tomorrow, September 1st and Thursday September 3rd to learn more, ask questions, and understand the fund’s application process. 📝 📅 September 1st & 3rd ⏱️ 1 PM EDT 📍 Zoom Register here: ilinationhood.ca/guardians-f…

At ILI, we are working toward a future where Indigenous Nations lead decisions on Indigenous lands. ➔ A future where caring for lands and waters strengthens communities, supports well-being, and creates lasting economic opportunities for Indigenous Nations. ➔ A future where Nation-to-Nation partnerships are not the exception, but the standard. ➔ And a future where Indigenous-led conservation in Canada becomes a model the world can learn from.

📣 We have a big announcement to share! The Indigenous Leadership Initiative is launching the First Nations Stewardship Fund – a brand new funding stream for Guardians programs across the country! 💪🌿 We know how essential Guardians are in protecting lands and waters, supporting communities, ensuring development happens in a good way, benefiting cultural knowledge and Nationhood – and we couldn’t be more thrilled that we have the chance to support them. For more information and to apply → ilinationhood.ca/guardians-f…

For generations, Indigenous Peoples have used fire to support healthy, biodiverse landscapes. Today, that knowledge is adapting to climate change and helping imagine a different future for forests across the country. Curious to learn more about the myths and truth surrounding fire? Head here ➔ ilinationhood.ca/blog/indige…

IPCAs are changing the conservation landscape, but what makes them different? It starts with leadership. They are designed and led by Indigenous Nations, rooted in traditional knowledge, & reflect long-term commitments to care for lands and waters. Learn more about them here: ilinationhood.ca/indigenous-…

We are happy to share that our Executive Director Valérie Courtois has been appointed to Canada’s new Expert Taskforce on Natural Capital Accounting and Nature Financing. This group will provide independent advice to the Government of Canada on how to better measure, value, and account for nature in decision-making as well as make recommendations on how to invest in nature in a way that supports long-term resilience. Congratulations to everyone involved, and espectially to Valérie canada.ca/en/environment-cli…

In this final piece, Mary-Jo Michell looks back on her experience as part of the two Inaugural Fellows of the First Nation Transforming Conservation Fellowship. Swipe to discover this transformative journey — spanning from studying macroinvertebrates in the Yukon, to walking the streets of New York, to asking questions of Ministers and senators in Ottawa — and all the inspiring lessons she learned. 🦋🤎🌷 ilinationhood.ca/blog/leader…

Good decisions need good information. Tahltan Guardians are helping gather it through wildlife patrols, habitat monitoring, and climate monitoring stations in northern B.C., where data gaps remain. This is the value of Indigenous leadership on the land. 🌿

Invited to the Let’s Take it Outside podcast, ILI’s senior fire advisor Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson reminds us that the larger goal behind her work is healthier, more resilient landscapes, for everyone. For Indigenous Peoples, that means lands where culture, knowledge, and responsibilities can continue. For the Canadian public across the country, it means healthier forests, and the ability to experience and appreciate the lands that sustain us *all*. ⏯️ Listen to the whole episodeon all streaming platforms:letstakethisoutside.ca/dr-am…