Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 26/99) - The territorial government's announcement Friday that it will endorse the Dogrib's self-government agreement-in-principle didn't come as a disappointment to the Deh Cho First Nations (DCFN) because of a provision dealing with outstanding boundary issues, according to DCFN boundaries co-ordinator Herb Norwegian.

The Deh Cho and the Dogribs are disputing land east of the Horn Plateau, between Lac la Martre and the Horn River. However, a process has been worked out to resolve the situation.

"Way over half of it is completed," he said. "Based on that we didn't have any problem with the GNWT going in and signing it (the AIP) off, but it was still conditional on the boundary talks."

Norwegian described the negotiations as "up tempo."

"I think what will happen is, for the time being, there will probably be a shared area until the details of how they arrive at a final line are basically worked out," he added. "As long as you have a paper trail and you have them tied in with a process, and you're aggressively pushing forward trying to get an agreement, that's a plus."

The Dogribs also have an outstanding boundary with the Yellowknives Dene.

In a GNWT press release, Premier and Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Jim Antoine stated that outstanding overlap and boundary issues between the Dogribs and their neighbours in the Deh Cho First Nations and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation must be resolved before a final agreement can be reached.