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WEKWEETI/SNARE LAKE
Joseph Judas is no stranger to hard work. He was born near Russell Lake and spent much of his life on the land hunting and trapping before moving to Wekweeti in the early 1970s.

Joseph Judas, former chair of the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board, has been chosen as a member of the Tlicho Assembly. - photo courtesy of Susan Beaumont

Since that time, Judas became involved in a variety of committees and organizations, lending his knowledge to help guide community decisions.

He has been a member of the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board since 2006, and was appointed unanimously as the board's chair in 2010 - a position he held until his resignation last month. He was Wekweeti's chief from 1998 to 2005 and served as a member of the Tlicho Land Use Planning Committee and the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board.

Now, he has been chosen to help represent Wekweeti in the Tlicho Assembly after being an acclaimed councillor during the Wekweeti general election this past June. The Tlicho Assembly sits at least five times per year, according to the Tlicho Government website, and is the law-making body for the government.

Judas said he believes, as a member of the Tlicho Assembly, it's important to think of the region as a whole instead of as individual communities.

"We can't think of Wekweeti as a small community," he said. "It's not right like that."

Judas said communities working together is vital.

"Helping one another, that's what our elders have been talking about," he said. "They told us everything will have to be equally shared."

Being guided by elders is fundamental to making decisions, Judas said. While he was chief, Judas helped to finalize the Tlicho Agreement. He said elders shared their input every step of the way.

Elders were also invaluable during his work with the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board, Judas said. One topic of concern for the board was the decline of the Bathurst caribou herd. Caribou numbers declined from about 350,000 in the mid 1990s to 35,000 in 2012, according to the territorial Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

A ban on hunting the herd was implemented, beginning in January 2010, before being opened up to a limited aboriginal harvest.

Judas said traditional knowledge told of more plentiful times.

"As far as I know, about 15 to 20 years ago, when the elders were still alive, there used to be a lot of caribou passing through northeast of Wekweeti," he said. "Since then, today hardly any caribou go across."

Judas said as he begins his term as a member of the assembly, he hopes elders and other residents will

continue to share their knowledge and opinions with leadership.

"We can't do it ourselves," he said. "You need the people's voice in order to work on what needs to be done."

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