Nadia Joe

Community

Dän K'è gugula ùye. Kajet dän ích'e. Dakwäkäda yù nínje My traditional name is gugula. I'm a member of the Crow Clan from Champagne & Aishihik First Nation in Haines Junction,Yukon (or High Cache as it is translated from Southern Tutchone). I was born in Whitehorse and spent summers with my grandparents at the seasonal fishing camp where my father was born, Klukshu. Klukshu is the Tlingit name for the village that was founded by Ákh Jiyish near the Yukon/BC/Alaska border in the southern end of the Alsek Watershed.

Bio
Nadia’s story is only one strand woven into the tapestry of her family’s story. She recently returned home to the north to spend more time with her elders on the land: listening, watching, learning. Like Crow, curious and vocal, she loves to travel and speaks Italian, French and German. Though her attempts at Southern Tutchone are met with laughter, she is determined to learn to express herself in the language of her family.

Like her parents, she understands her role as serving her community. She considers it an honour to have the opportunity to return home and serve the community that has cultivated her cultural values and that continues to support her efforts to achieve a western education so that she may have a more complete understanding of the world today. Nadia is currently working as Aboriginal Program and Policy Development Officer for Parks Canada in Kluane National Park. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BSc in Chemistry and Biological sciences and is currently working her way through an MSc program in Environment and Management through Royal Roads University.

Issue of Investigation

Sustainable management of water resources has been identified by her community as an issue requiring immediate attention. Nadia’s project will combine scientific and traditional knowledge and approaches to develop policy measures for water management that provide for water's sustainable use while maintaining its natural condition – a provision of the Champagne & Aishihik First Nations final agreement.