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ABOUT US

The Dena Kayeh Institute (“DKI”) is a non-profit society that was established in 2004 and was created to empower, preserve, and protect the Kaska Dena language, oral traditions, history, culture, and traditional knowledge.

The purposes of the Society are:

support and coordinate charitable, traditional knowledge-related educational and scientific programs related to the traditional territory of the Kaska Dena (“Traditional Territory”);

preserve and protect the Kaska Dena language, oral traditions, history, culture and traditional
knowledge, including any associated intellectual property rights;

advance the education of the Kaska tradition of sustainable uses of the land within the Traditional Territory and promote the rediscovery by Kaska and non-Kaska people of the culture which embodies that tradition, including, but not limited to the following:
(i) conduct research
(ii) compile data and
(iii) prepare reports regarding Kaska traditional knowledge to increase public understanding and awareness about the Kaska Dena through libraries, schools, museums and other appropriate institutions;

further sustainable development initiatives that promote the restoration and maintenance of the Kaska tradition of sustainable use within the Traditional Territory; and for such purposes and to facilitate the establishment, operation, maintenance and enhancement of the Society, the Society may develop resources, may accept gifts, grants arid other remittances of money and other property, may acquire, manage, deal with and dispose of both real property and personal property, may accept, hold, administer and deal with endowments and may do all such other lawful things as may be necessary or desirable to attain any or all of the foregoing specific purposes. The Society may create and maintain a fund or funds and disburse from time to time all or part of the capitol thereof or the income therefrom in furtherance of the purposes of the Society.

Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA)

The primary work of DKI over the past year is to work with the Kaska communities on designing an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) within the Kaska Ancestral Territory in BC. Our efforts will include numerous community meetings, interviews with Elders and land stewards, reviewing traditional knowledge within our database, developing and implementing communication strategies to reach those Kaska citizens living out of the communities and to begin to illustrate how the Dane nan yḗ dāh land guardian program will be incorporated into the management of the IPCA.

OUR CONSTITUTION

The fundamental principles of DKI which determine the responsibilities and rights of its officers and members.

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OUR BYLAWS

The detailed procedures and working guidelines of DKI which govern the day- to-day operations of the organization.

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