Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı
Sahtú Renewable Resources Board

2021-ongoing Petroleum Histories Project

Background

After more than a century of operations, Imperial Oil is planning the closure of the Norman Wells oilfields. This has raised questions in communities across the Sahtú region about the history of oil extraction at Norman Wells and its impacts on land, water, animals, and Dene and Métis ts’ı̨lı̨ (way of life). While Sahtú communities are rich with oral histories about Dene and Métis experiences of and engagements with petroleum development, they have questions about the historical motivations and actions of industry and government.

Over the course of 2020-21, these questions were communicated by community leaders and members to Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board – SRRB) staff dur­ing a series of study circles and meetings of the Nę K’ǝ Dene Ts’ı̨lı̨ – Living on the Land Forum. Together the SRRB and the Norman Wells, Tulı́t’a, and Fort Good Hope Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę (Renewable Resources Councils), with input from the Nę K’ǝ Dene Ts’ı̨lı̨ Forum, designed “A Century of Petroleum Extraction at Tłegǫ́hłı̨ (Norman Wells): Indigenous Knowledge for Indigenous Guardianship.”

This project has been granted an NWT Scientific Research Licence (#17015) and has received ethics approval from Aurora College (AC-REC #22-02).

Project description

The purpose of the Petroleum Histories Project is: to document the history and impacts of the oil and gas industry at Norman Wells and across the Sahtú, and to strengthen present and future In­digenous roles in decision-making, stewardship, and monitoring.

Stories and knowledge about the history and impacts of petroleum extraction gathered through oral histories, fieldwork, archival research, study circles, and in-person gatherings are being and will be shared with Sahtú communities and the wider public through written publications, online story maps, audiovisual materials, and artwork. A guidance document for managing the impacts of climate change on remote sumps is also in development. 

In addition to expanding local understandings of the history and impacts of oil and gas in the region, the knowledge generated through this project is supporting hı̨dó gogha sę́nę́gots'ı́ɂá (planning for the future) in the five Sahtú communities, as well as participation in regulatory processes for existing and future oil and gas operations.

Project objectives

  • Record oral histories with a focus on Indigenous knowledges about the history and cumulative impacts of oil and gas development in the Sahtú region on land, water, animals, people, and Dene and Métis ts’ı̨lı̨.
  • Compile an archive of sources about the history and impacts of petroleum extraction at Norman Wells and across the Sahtú.
  • Facilitate dialogue between Dene and Métis Elders and knowledge holders, Nę K’ǝ́dı́ke (Keepers of the Land - Indigenous guardians), youth, and collaborators about the history and impacts of petroleum extraction at Norman Wells and across the Sahtú.
  • “Ground truth” sites of concern identified through oral histories and study circles through boots on the ground observation and monitoring by Nę K’ǝ́dı́ke using Indigenous and western science methods.
  • Share Sahtú Dene and Métis stories about the history and impacts of oil and gas at Norman Wells and across the Sahtú using different media as directed by community members.
  • Produce a community-informed and archival-based history of petrole­um extraction at Norman Wells to be used as documentation for regulating existing and new resource development projects, and regional decision-making related to conservation of homeland, wildlife, and way of life.
  • Train Sahtú Dene and Métis in different fieldwork and archival methodologies, as well as audiovisual tools so they can document and share their observations and stories about the history and ongoing impacts of oil and gas development in the Sahtú region.

Anticipated outcomes

Already this project is enhancing community knowledge of the history and impacts of the oil industry at Norman Wells through fieldwork, study circles, and in-person gatherings. It is also building connections and relationships between community members and collaborators, and between communities, government, and industry.

It is expected that this project will have significant impacts in empowering communities and supporting their involvement in closure and  reclamation. It will strengthen the evidence base for decision-making by co-management bodies in addressing objectives of the Sahtú Dene and Métis Land Claim Agreement with respect to wildlife conservation and maintenance of Dene and Métis ts’ı̨lı̨. It will help to build a new generation of knowledgeable, skilled, and responsible leadership by bringing together knowledge holders and youth through a variety of activities including study circles, fieldwork, and video projects. It will will expand awareness of Indigenous experiences of long-term cumulative impacts, and the benefits of meaningfully including Indigenous peoples and their values and knowledge in closure and reclamation planning.

Team members, partners, and collaborators

Team members

  • Leon Andrew, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (SRRB)
  • Deborah Simmons, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (SRRB)
  • Catarina Owen, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (SRRB)
  • Melanie Harding, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (SRRB)
  • Jonathan Yakeleya, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (SRRB)
  • Lisa McDonald, Norman Wells Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę (Renewable Resources Council)
  • Anne Marie Jackson
  • Jess Dunkin
  • Gillian Donald, Applied Ecology
  • Petra Dolata, University of Calgary
  • Skylar Lipman

Partners and collaborators

  • Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board)
  • Canadian Wildlife Service
  • Fort Good Hope Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę (Renewable Resources Council)
  • GNWT Environment and Climate Change
  • Gwich’in Tribal Council, Department of Cultural Heritage
  • Memorial University
  • Nę K’ǝ Dene Ts’ı̨lı̨ - Living on the Land Forum
  • Norman Wells Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę (Renewable Resources Council)
  • Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)
  • Tulı́t’a Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę (Renewable Resources Council)
  • University of Alberta
  • University of Calgary

Funders

This project has received funding from GNWT Cumulative Impacts Monitoring Program (CIMP), GNWT Environment and Natural Resources, GNWT Industry Tourism and Investment, NWT Species Conservation and Recovery Fund (SCARF), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Polar Knowledge Canada, the Ărramăt Project, and Natural Resources Canada.

Project Materials

  pdf 2025 Gathering Report(3.03 MB)

pdf Project Description Flyer (1.50 MB)

pdf Norman Wells In-person Gathering Report, March 2023.(6.85 MB)

  pdf 2022-2023 Annual Report(1.32 MB)

Petroleum Histories Project Team, "A Century of Petroleum Extraction at Tłegǫ́hłı̨ (Norman Wells)," ActiveHistory.ca, 5 December 2023.