Behind each modern treaty is a unique Indigenous culture that thrived for thousands of years, and has been dramatically impacted by colonization.

In addition to improving health, wellbeing and economic status, modern treaties are intended to not only protect existing culture and heritage, but also rejuvenate and reclaim cultural practices, protocols, and values over time. This can be achieved through research and advocacy (archaeology, repatriation of artifacts from colonial institutional archives, etc.), and practice (speaking the language, learning traditional skills, harvesting plants and animals, travelling the land, learning and teaching traditional music and dance, etc.).

When Nunavut Inuit learn to make traditional sealskin and caribou clothing, wear that clothing and teach others to make it, they are preserving their culture for future generations.

When Gwich’in Elders document their knowledge of the language, land and animals, they ensure that this priceless cultural information is passed intact to current and future generations.

The Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (GSCI) is an excellent example of how modern treaties can protect and promote culture and heritage. Founded in 1993, one year after the Gwich’in Tribal Council began implementing their modern treaty, GSCI has since produced dictionaries of Gwich’in dialects, organized numerous archeological digs of important Gwich’in sites, published traditional knowledge documents such as Gwich’in Ethnobotany, replicated traditional Gwich’in clothing housed in museum archives, published oral history accounts by Elders and much more.

The desire to protect and promote culture and heritage is a foundational part of every modern treaty, because when culture and heritage are strong, identity is secure.