Land is our Survival
Paul Baton, Deline Elder

Paul Baton is a long term resident of Deline, but he has broader roots in the Sahtu Region. His grandfather, Bodô, was K’ahsho Got’ine. Paul has also lived in Tulita, where he served as chief for ten years.

Paul has the benefit of a lifetime of experience on the land. He has spent time in the Mackenzie Mountains, at Kwadákala (White Rock), as well as Kelly Lake. He has also traveled extensively around Great Bear Lake, with base camps at Etírato (Whitefish River) and Turili (Johnny Hoe River).

Paul has been able to balance bush life with active leadership in the community of Deline. He served on the Band Council for four years, and as chief for a year. He has also remained active on committees focused on a variety of issues, including the Sahtu Dene and Metis Land Claim Agreement, the proposed pipeline, self-government negotiations, and the uranium committee – to which he contributes his personal experience of having worked as an ore carrier for the Port Radium uranium mine.

Paul’s Story
From the beginning of time, our forefathers have worked on the land. This land is our source of survival. Our grandfathers, our fathers, and we the elders of today have all strived on the land. I myself have been committed to living on the land.

So when we speak of the land, we speak nothing but the truth. It is as if we are speaking of our own hearts.

Yes, the land is very important to us. Not only do we dwell on it, but also the wildlife survives on it. As humans, we survive by eating the wildlife. That also is a way of life.

Water, wildlife, caribou, moose, beaver, muskrat, and fish - these are all life sustaining for us. We can’t allow these resources to be mismanaged. We have to be constantly aware of our responsibility for proper land management.
We are concerned about the land not only for our own interest, but also for our future children, for their survival one hundred years, two hundred years, three hundred years into the future.
No matter what, our land-based traditions will never disappear. That’s why we’ve said that we will take care of our land. We’ve said this over and over, countless times.
Over the past three years, we have talked of the selected land claims areas, and we have talked of the pipeline.

There was a report on Port Radium, that the minerals taken out by white men were no good for people. So we talked about that for three years. And we have talked about the highway, and it’s been almost three years now and we’re only now almost finished talking about it. And slowly we’re making progress in our self-government negotiations.
This shows how much we respect our land. We don’t want anything to go wrong in the process. We don’t want to erase our ancestors’ imprints on the land.

There is already a lot of garbage and contamination caused by development on the land. Developers and outsiders don’t understand how important the land is to the people. We can’t break our connection to nature. We can’t survive on store-bought food.

So that’s why we emphasize that the land has to be kept good. It’s a very important issue for us.