Yukon First Nations and National Defence
This collaborative project represents a partnership between the Assembly of First Nations Yukon Region and NAADSN to undertake research and host regional dialogues with Yukon First Nations (YFNs) to identify defence and security priorities in the Yukon and Western North American Arctic. This project will produce a comprehensive discussion paper that offers concrete recommendations for strengthening DND/CAF-Indigenous collaboration in the face of evolving Arctic security threats, as well as fact sheets and practical reference guides. Specific objectives are to:
- Identify and articulate Yukon First Nations’ concerns, interests, and priorities with respect to Arctic defence and security an era of rising geopolitical tensions; the role of Yukon in continental defence and NORAD; and climate change as a complex and multi-faceted security challenge;
- Identify ways to enhance communications between YFNs and DND/CAF, as well as practical opportunities to advance whole-of-society priorities in the North; and
- Identify partnership opportunities including: procurement opportunities for YFN businesses and development corporations; mechanisms to support CAF exercises and operations on YFN traditional territories; enhancing the Canadian Rangers; and dual-use infrastructure projects that also address community needs.
Resources
- Defence Initiatives and Opportunities: Energy, Telecommunications, and Transportation Infrastructure (PowerPoint), by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, 17 December 2024
- Yukon First Nations, Defence, and Security: Understanding the Landscape (PowerPoint), by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, 17 December 2024
- Situating the Yukon in Canadian Defence and Security, by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, April 2024
- Council of Yukon First Nations, Arctic and Northern Policy Framework Chapter, 16 October 2024
- Report of the Yukon Security Advisory Council, November 2024
- Map of Joint Task Force North area of operations
- Balloons, NORAD, and the Defence of North America: Reflections on the February 2023 Incidents Concerning High-Altitude Objects in North America, by Nicholas Glesby and P. Whitney Lackenbauer, February 2024
- Government of Yukon Submission to Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs’ Study on Issues Relating to Security and Defence in the Arctic, January 2023
- Roberta Joseph, Chief of Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation, and Kluane Adamek, Regional Chief, Yukon, Assembly of First Nations, testimony to Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs, 28 November 2022
- The Canadian Armed Forces’ Eyes, Ears, and Voice in Remote Regions: Selected Writings on the Canadian Rangers, by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, January 2022
- Measuring the Success of the Canadian Rangers, by P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Peter Kikkert, October 2020
- Using Civil-Military Operations to “Expand and Deepen” Relationships with Northern Communities: Examples from Alaska and Australia, by Peter Kikkert and P. Whitney Lackenbauer, July 2020
- Arctic Highways as Critical Infrastructure, by Christina Bouchard, August 2020
- Vigilans: The 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, 2015