Yukon First Nations and National Defence

This collaborative project represents a partnership between the Assembly of First Nations Yukon Region and the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN) to identify defence and security priorities of Yukon First Nations and the broader Western North American Arctic.
 

Read the August 2025 report Yukon First Nations Defence and Security: Prioritizing Sovereignty, Preparedness, and Partnership, available here, which offers concrete recommendations for strengthening DND/CAF–Indigenous collaboration in the face of evolving Arctic security threats, as well as fact sheets and practical reference guides. This report is the culmination of the partnership between the Assembly of First Nation Yukon Region and the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN).

The AFN Yukon Region and NAADSN co-developed a series of virtual ‘open houses’ for Yukon First Nations to explore the following aspects of National Defence:

  • Infrastructure, Telecommunications and Transportation
  • Rangers and Primary Reserves
  • Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations
  • Disaster Response and Emergency Management
  • Political Interference and Economic Security
  • Balloon Incident & YFN Leadership Information Needs

The open houses provided YFN leadership and technicians with valuable insights from experts to help develop policy positions around defence and security. The feedback and discussions during these sessions shaped the recommendations included in the final report.

 

Through these sessions, Yukon First Nations leadership, technicians, and development corporation representatives were invited to:

  • Identify and articulate concerns, interests, and priorities with respect to Arctic defence and security in an era of rising geopolitical tensions; the role of Yukon in continental defence and NORAD; and climate change as a complex and multi-faceted security challenge;
  • Identify ways to enhance communications between YFNs and DND/CAF, as well as practical opportunities to advance whole-of-society priorities in the North; and
  • Identify partnership opportunities including: procurement opportunities for YFN businesses and development corporations; mechanisms to support CAF exercises and operations on YFN traditional territories; enhancing the Canadian Rangers; and dual-use infrastructure projects that also address community needs.
 

Resources