Dene Nahjo's Daniel T'Seleie talks solar energy, cultural revitalization and climate change

October 26, 2015 |  2 min read

pc: Tania Larsson

Dene Nahjo founding member Daniel T'Seleie is making the news this week with his campaign to help bring solar energy to communities in Denendeh.

T'Seleie, who is K'asho Got'ine Dene from Radili Ko/Fort Good Hope, believes that by harnessing the power of the sun, indigenous communities can gain independence as nations, engage in a cultural resurgence movement that is tied to the land and combat climate change.
 
"A huge aspect of our lives, culture and language is lost when we can't be on the land," he said. "For me, that's one of the biggest threats of climate change."
 
Solar panels empower indigenous people in Canada's north
 
Green energy activist Daniel T'Seleie, who believes northern Canada could improve its energy security by investing in more solar panels, is pictured outside Bechoko, Northwest Territories in this September 30, 2015 file photo. Green energy activist Daniel T'Seleie, who believes northern Canada could improve its energy security by investing in more solar panels, is pictured outside Bechoko, Northwest Territories in this September 30, 2015 file photo. BEHCHOKO, Northwest Territories, Canada (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Daniel T'seleie, an indigenous activist in Canada's far north, is campaigning to help his people wean themselves from a worrying dependence on imported fuel and food, recover old traditions and win greater autonomy from the government.

"Right now a lot of communities in the Northwest Territories are dependent on diesel-generated electricity, along with store-bought food," said T'seleie in an open air interview near Behchoko, a clutch of small wooden houses nestled along the shores of Great Slave Lake.

Standing beside spindly jack pine trees growing from thin soil on the hard granite rock that covers much of northern Canada, T'seleie sees renewable energy as the force which could respond to the region's complex, intertwined challenges.

Read the full story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/26/us-climatechange-canada-solar-idUSKCN0SK0G120151026