Tanya Ball began her career as a social worker for the Kaska Dene First Nation. Now she runs a land guardian program, working to monitor and protect a vast stretch of the band鈥檚 northern British Columbia wilderness.

But she鈥檚 still a social worker, in a way.

鈥淟and guardians can help the land heal,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd the land can help the guardians heal.鈥�

Ball is at the forefront of the new way Canada protects its remaining healthy rivers, lakes, forests, mountains and plains. Crown governments would once rope off an area deemed particularly scenic or good for outdoor recreation and call it a park.

No longer.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no future when it comes to conservation where the federal government is involved (and) Indigenous people aren鈥檛 involved from the get-go,鈥� said federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. 鈥淭his traditional model is a thing of the past.鈥�

Conservation is now something Indigenous people lead instead of something done to them. Most protected areas in Canada are now being proposed by Indigenous groups, who aim to look after those lands themselves.

There are now about 80 protected areas in Canada monitored by the people to whom the lands originally belonged. Some are designated only by the local First Nation and some are part of the national parks system.

But more 鈥� many more 鈥� are on their way.

The most recent federal budget contains funding for at least another 27 Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. Ottawa just signed a memorandum of agreement with the Nunatsiavut government in Labrador to develop one with both parties involved from the start.

It鈥檚 the only way Canada is going to fulfil its international promise to protect 30 per cent of its land mass, said Sandra Schwartz of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

鈥淎chieving those protection targets for Canada are realistic,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any of those opportunities are on Indigenous land.鈥�

Indigenous conservation comes from the historic cultural attachment to the land and the political desire for a land base, said Val Courtois of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, who has been involved in the movement for years.

鈥淭he assertion of rights in Canada has always been about that relationship to place. This is just a new way of describing that responsibility.鈥�

Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas have been created under federal, provincial and band structures and vary widely in how they function and what they do. Some don鈥檛 meet international conservation area standards and won鈥檛 count toward Canada鈥檚 30 per cent goal.

But they all involve some level of Indigenous co-management, they all involve land-use planning and they all involve guardians 鈥� local First Nations people charged and trained with stewarding the land.

Ball said her staff of eight takes water samples, makes maps, monitors hunting, delineates archeological sites, keeps track of visitor impacts, watches animal movements, assists conservation officers and runs research projects.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very busy,鈥� she said.

One thing they don鈥檛 do is put up fences. Indigenous Protected Areas aren鈥檛 meant to keep anyone out, Courtois said.

鈥淚 would fall off my chair if I heard of an Indigenous group that is saying 鈥榣et鈥檚 exclude everybody,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭here may be small portions that are particularly sacred, but the idea of exclusion of people is an antithesis of how we understand these places.鈥�

Decisions on local development are made locally, she said.

Tara Shea of the Mining Association of Canada said her group generally supports Indigenous protection 鈥� as long as the process is transparent and potential mineral tenures are considered in advance.

鈥淲e strongly believe mineral development and biodiversity conservation can go hand-in-hand.鈥�

There are challenges. While the federal government has set aside more than $300 million since 2018 for Indigenous conservation, Guilbeault acknowledges a source of permanent funding for such programs is still being sought.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 do permanent programs. The philanthropic world has played a huge role in conservation and will continue to. We welcome their involvement.鈥�

Ottawa, the Northwest Territories, area First Nations and the U.S.-based Pew Charitable Trusts are currently negotiating a way for Pew money to finance the guardian program at the Edehzhie National Park and Indigenous Protected Area.

Another obstacle is the varying degrees of support from provincial governments, which control most of Canada鈥檚 Crown land.

鈥淭he level of enthusiasm varies,鈥� said Guilbeault, who declined specifics. 鈥淪ome provincial governments don鈥檛 believe in the government-to-government relationship.鈥�

Courtois agrees.

鈥淚t鈥檚 tough for provinces,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e used to being in the driver鈥檚 seat.鈥�

Ball believes Indigenous conservation is important for the whole country as a crucial component of reconciliation. She sees what happens if people from her First Nation go out on the land they once again help manage.

鈥淪ometimes people want to come out just for the day. I just see a difference in people by the end of the day. Their behaviour changes, their mood has lifted,鈥� Ball said.

鈥淚 think that鈥檒l really help with social issues, too.鈥�

鈥擝ob Weber, The Canadian Press