The Dogrib band get their name from a myth about a hero who changed from a dog to a person. The Dogribs continue to transform, going from near decimation in the mid-1800s to a growing population, securing the first combined self-government agreement and First Nation land claim in the Northwest Territories, and inking a deal for the world’s first native-run power project.

Dogribs signed a $115 million deal to finance, build and own two small hydro projects in the Great Slave Lake area. The tribe formed the Dogrib Power Corporation to own the projects, while the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) would rent them. Every phase of the project – such as construction, engineering and environmental management – was under Dogrib control. The Dogrib provided 15% of the cash needed and financed the remainder.

Today, the Dogrib’s Snare Cascades small hydro project is delivering significant recurring revenue and affordable, clean energy to power through brutal winters. Without the unit, NTPC would call on diesel generators to meet demand at a cost of about $50,000 in Canadian dollars per week.

When this most northerly hydro system in Canada was first developed in 1948, Yellowknife was evolving from a primitive, raucous pioneer settlement to an orderly town. Reliable power paved the way for modernization. Construction was challenging and complicated by weather. Permafrost turned to sticky, slippery mud by the Arctic sun’s intense rays, hampering progress. Transportation of incoming construction and installation equipment presented an even greater obstacle. The remote site is accessible by airplane from April through November and via ice road truck during the winter months, when daytime temperatures of -22°F are common. The Snare Hydro project extended the knowledge of cold-region engineering and construction from the Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline projects to water resource engineering projects.

The Batchewana First Nation of Ojibways is an Ojibway First Nation in northern Ontario. Their traditional lands run along the eastern shore of Lake Superior, from Lake Superior to Batchawana Bay to Whitefish Island.

Here in Canada’s Algoma District, close to the eastern edge of Lake Superior, 50 miles northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and within the original reserve of the Batchewana, the Bow Lake Wind Facility has been churning out clean renewable energy since 2015. The 58-MW project, with its 36 1.2-MW turbines, is the culmination of a partnership between the Batchewana and BluEarth Renewables, one of the largest economic partnerships involving a First Nation and a wind energy developer in Canada. The joint-venture project is owned by the Nodin Kitagan Limited Partnership. The Batchewana know and refer to the project as Chinodin Chigumi Nodin Kitagan. Electricity generated by the project is being sold to the Ontario Power Authority under a 20-year contract.

Both participants in this joint venture share in the project’s economic benefits, risks and costs. The Batchewana contributed $8 million of the band’s own funds to launch the project. In return, 80 Batchewana citizens gained employment during construction and later performed operations and maintenance tasks. Recurring revenue generated from the wind farm has been directed to Batchewana housing, infrastructure, health care, cultural programs and governance. Annual revenue for Batchewana is an estimated $2 million over a 20-year period, an important contribution to Batchewana households in this economically depressed area

Headquartered in Calgary, BluEarth Renewables is a private company focused on renewable energy development on a commercial scale.  BluEarth is committed to developing projects in partnership with indigenous groups in a way that balances social value, environmental protection and principles of shared revenue.

The Na-Cho Nyak Dun are called the Big River People because their ancestors camped, hunted and trapped along the Stewart River they called the Na-Cho Nyak, or Big River. Appropriately, their descendants today are self-governing and have full indigenous rights 1.2 million acres along the Stewart and the town of Mayo. This is the location of Mayo B, built on tribal lands newly ceded to this First Nation. Operation of Mayo B provides long-term economic rewards for this small, formerly nomadic band.

Water power, gold and silver are among the natural resources found in this inhospitable northern outpost. Gold was first discovered in 1883, then silver in 1903. In the 1880s, as many as 100 men a year worked the gravel bars of the Stewart River. It came to be known as “Grubstake River” because a miner could always find enough gold there to cover his costs for a season. While it was the search for gold along the Stewart River in 1883 that first brought outsiders in any number to the region, it was the discovery and subsequent development of massive silver deposits that gave the area its name, character and stability. When the first silver claim was staked in 1903, the settlement of Mayo sprung up and mining began in 1913. By the 1950s, the area became Canada’s second largest producer of silver and the fourth largest worldwide.

The Keno Hill Mine at Elsa, 28 miles north of Mayo, needed electricity for its silver mining operations, and so the 5-MW Mayo A project was built in 1951 to meet the need. Decades later, as the local population grew even as mining operations had begun to wane, two 5-MW Mayo B units were added 2.3 miles down the river. This time, however, the small hydro project would be built on land owned by the newly independent Na-Cho Nyak Dun, and this small band of just 600 or so people would be the beneficiary for many years to come.