Northern Canadian ecosystems are changing at a rapid pace. Making up almost 55 percent of Canada's landmass, this region is warming at nearly four times faster than the average global rate. A changing ecosystem means that food sources for people are changing too. Around Great Bear Lake, the Sahtúgot’ı̨nę have noticed these impacts, and now are in need to prepare and adapt their food system to these changing conditions.

An Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) is a body of land and water where Indigenous governments, or organizations, have the primary role in protecting and conserving ecosystems through local Indigenous laws, governance, or knowledge systems. Enabling Indigenous people to govern their traditional territory promotes long-term environmental conservation strategies and places Indigenous culture and language at the heart of every IPCA.

As Dakelh people, the rivers that run through their territory are just as important to them as the blood that runs through their veins. They knew exactly when to fish, hunt, and harvest berries and building materials based on the changing seasons. One of the most important times for the Dakelh people to know was when the salmon would arrive, as they are an essential food source to survive the long and harsh winter months.

Ice cores are long cylinders of ice that are drilled from ice sheets and glaciers. Some ice does not melt, even in the summer, so the snow that falls on it buries snow from past years. That snow eventually turns into ice that has captured the chemicals that were in the air and on the snow when it formed, including pollutants. Ice cores can reveal atmospheric particles or aerosols (which are tiny invisible pieces of solids or liquids that float in the air and even in our atmosphere!) from thousands of years ago and tell us a lot about what the world used to be like.