ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD - In an unprecedented act for the Deh Cho, the Acho Dene Koe First Nation of Fort Liard has signed an agreement to negotiate its own land claim.

The framework agreement between Acho Dene Koe (ADK), Canada and the government of the Northwest Territories was signed July 14 by Chief Steven Kotchea of ADK, Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, and Michael Miltenberger, deputy premier of the NWT.

Chief Steven Kotchea, left, watches as Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, signs a framework agreement with the Acho Dene Koe First Nation in Fort Liard during a ceremony on July 14. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"We've worked so long and hard to come to this moment," Chief Steven Kotchea said to a crowd of more than 60 people.

The framework agreement specifies how negotiations will proceed on land and resources and how community governance may be addressed.

In its first phase, negotiations will deal with land in the NWT. The second phase will address traditional lands that ADK claims in the Yukon and British Columbia.

ADK has been working since the 1980s to get recognition on its traditional lands that fall outside of the NWT, said Kotchea. The Dehcho Process stops at the border.

"This agreement gives us the recognition we want."

So far the amount of land, its location or possible cash payments that will be involved in the final agreement haven't been put into numbers, said Kotchea.

Many families that are part of ADK have ties to B.C. Kotchea was born in Francois, B.C., and Harry Deneron, former chief of ADK, was born near Maxhamish Lake.

It wasn't until 1953 when the border with B.C. was slashed that ADK members had any sense of what the boundaries meant, said Deneron.

"Now they tell me I don't belong in B.C.," he said.

Deneron said the Fort Nelson First Nation has claimed power over the land that is traditionally ADK and First Nation members have even been told not to hunt or fish over the border, said Deneron.

"We still have to negotiate with B.C. to see who's going to be the toughest."

The effect the agreement has on the Dehcho Process is "one of the major concerns here," said Dehcho First Nations (DFN) Grand Chief Jerry Antoine.

"I feel the federal people haven't really been up front about what they've been doing."

DFN is particularly concerned about how Fort Liard's separate negotiations could affect the Land Use Plan and the divisions it could create between the communities.

DFN, however, also recognizes that each community is a government and has always been supportive of community's initiatives, said Antoine. Protection of traditional areas and the encroachment of provincial boundaries on First Nations' areas are important issues for many bands, he said.

"I'm in support of resolving things on the Acho Dene Koe traditional area particularly on the southern and western traditional areas," Antoine said.

Antoine is, however, urging the new chief and council in Fort Liard, who were elected on June 17, to work closely with their members on this agreement.

The framework agreement shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, said Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Talks regarding the agreement have been underway for a while and federal negotiators have kept the DFN informed about the process, said Strahl.

"This is not a divide and conquer, it's a response to Acho Dene Koe's request," he said.

He said the initiative for a separate land claim negotiation came from ADK.

The federal government prefers to negotiate big block agreements but is sensitive to individual First Nation requests, he said.

"They feel that their concerns on the land issues will move more quickly if they have a separate negotiation," Strahl said, adding that negotiations with the Dehcho First Nations are important to the government and will continue.