QENTOL, YEN attends the 2025 National Guardians Gathering in lək̓ʷəŋən Territory
June 10-12, 2025
Opening Prayer song prior to canoe ceremony
Canoe Ceremony
Marching to Parliament
Marching to Parliament
Song and Drum on the steps of Parliament
W̱SÁNEĆ youth- Wolf Pack
On the steps of Parliament
QENTOL,YEN at National Guardians Gathering
Marine Guardian Mathias on stage
Marine Guardian Mathias on stage for panel discussion
Marine Guardian Mathias on stage
QENTOL, YEN
From June 10 through 12, the QENTOL,YEN team attended the National Guardians gathering, held in Victoric, BC, in lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Territory. This gathering brought together close to 300 Guardians from across “Canada” and “the United States”. Guardians were joined by allies, leaders, and partners, resulting in over 350 attendees. The purpose of this gathering is just that- to gather, to connect with one another, to celebrate the success of the Guardians movement, the National Guardians Network (NGN), and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI). Throughout our time together, one message stood tall, LAND NEEDS GUARDIANS. First Nations stewards represent hope for the restoration of our planet, our people, our language, and our culture.
On day one, June 10, we began the gathering with a canoe ceremony- lead by Songhees, Nations from across Turtle Island paddled from Ogden Point to Songhees Point, and from Songhees point to Protocol Point, after a couple victory laps in the harbour. At protocol point canoe protocol was enacted- we declared our peaceful intentions and asked Elder Frank George for permission to come ashore. Once permission was granted to all canoes, we came together as one and marched- from protocol point to Parliament, where we prayed, sang, drummed, and danced, and continued to Totem Park and the longhouse of Chief Nakaṕankam. At the longhouse, we were motivated by words from leaders from across Turtle Island to open the gathering, and were supported by Dr. David Suzuki.
Following the canoe ceremony, we were welcomed by emcee Leah George-Wilson, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, David Eby Premier of British Columbia, Tamara Davidson British Columbia Minister of Environment and Parks and Executive Directors of the NGN and ILI.
For the next 2.5 days, we listened- to words of hope, joy, solidarity, frustration and encouragement, we learned- from elders, youth, colleagues, allies, and government representatives, and we laughed- with ourselves, our relatives, and with new friends.
Throughout the gathering we had the opportunity to observe panel discussions and plenary talks with a wide range of topics. We heard about the National Guardians Network’s journey of expansion and vision for the future, Guardians' role in land restoration and fire stewardship, B.C.'s commitment to Indigenous-led stewardship, the importance of data, storytelling, and community-driven metrics to demonstrate the impact of Indigenous Guardian. We were also visited by our relatives from the “United States” who discussed Cross-border perspectives from U.S. Indigenous leaders, and highlighted shared challenges and opportunities. Importantly, a new initiative celebrating and supporting the leadership of Indigenous women in conservation was launched, the First Nations Women Transforming Conservation Fellowship, strengthening the role of gender equity in environmental stewardship. We listened to panel discussions on tools and strategies for ensuring Indigenous voices shape the future of land and resource decisions, innovative, long-term funding models supporting Indigenous-led conservation, and guardians’ voices from coast to coast- experiences from across the country, highlighting the diversity and strength of the movement.
In addition to panel and plenary discussions, we had the opportunity to attend a variety of break out sessions. Our team attended Indigenous-led climate solutions, Guardians in urban environments, the role of Guardians in IPCAs, designing a guardians exchange program, and rooted in language, guided by the land: youth voices (with panelist QENTOL,YEN Guardian Mathias!). These sessions offered deep dives into specialized topics, giving space for community-driven innovation, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
On the evening of June 11, attendees of the gathering had the opportunity to attend the private screening of break-out film “Guardians of the Land"". This film tells the tale of two Guardian programs- The Haíłzaqv Coastal Guardian Watchmen and The Innu Nation Guardians. The film tells the tale of the destruction caused by colonization from coast to coast, and how nations are taking a stand to steward their territories and restore their homelands to healthy and thriving.
QENTOL,YEN Marine Guardian Mathias writes of his experience at the gathering: “As one of the guardians on the team, I was very fortunate to be part of one of the panels (Rooted in Language, Guided by the Land: Youth Voices), where I was able to speak about the issues our people have faced over the years regarding reconnecting with our language and culture, and the different ways we have reconnected to those significant aspects of our identity. Not only was the panel fun, but meeting the different guardians from coast to coast and learning about the different work they are doing was amazing! Learning about the various nations work around moose tagging, tracking and documenting wolves, and efforts to protect crucial habitat on the big lakes and rivers back East was inspiring. To me, these conferences are the definition of HOPE seeing over 200 First Nations stewardship programs come together from across Canada and filling the entire Victoria Conference Center gives me HOPE that we will change and repair what the government has taken, destroyed, and ruined. Our precious lands and waters need more guardians. First Nations people have stewarded these lands since time immemorial, and our people have, and will remain, connected to the land and waters. I hope that at the next conference, we will see that number of over 200 guardians doubled, if not tripled!”
During the National Guardians Gathering, we connected with Guardians from the Timmins area in Eastern Ontario. This connection resulted in their Guardians joining us for a day on our waters, to learn about the sea, our relatives of the deep, and the work we do in W̱SÁNEĆ territory.
The gathering, and subsequent ride along with Guardians from the East, left us feeling fulfilled, inspired, and reminded us of the importance of the work we do and the strength of coming together as one.
HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM to NGN and ILI for organizing this gathering and bringing us together.
Gardians from the East conducting pinniped monitoring counts on QENTOLYEN1
Graham and JC
East meets West!