Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council
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| Abbreviation | YRITWC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1997 |
| Founder | Indigenous governments within the Yukon River Watershed |
| Type | Multi-government advisory, advocacy, monitoring, and lobby group |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | To protect the environmental integrity of the Yukon River watershed and to preserve the cultural vitality of the indigenous communities |
| Locations |
|
Region served | Yukon River Watershed |
| Fields | Environmental protection, Cultural preservation |
| Membership | 66 First Nations and tribes |
| Revenue | Funding from government agencies, private initiatives and public |
The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) is a multi-government advisory, advocacy, monitoring, and lobby group for protecting and cleaning up the Yukon River.[1][2] It consists of 66 First Nations and tribes in Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia, living along the Yukon River.[3][4]
Its vision is to "be able to drink water directly from the Yukon River." YRITWC receives its funding from both government agencies and private initiatives; it also accepts donations from members of the public.
The YRITWC was founded in 1997, Indigenous governments living within the watershed come together and pledged to collaborate to give to profer solutions to various environmental governing authority issues impacting the environmental quality of the River and its watershed. These groups from the Canadian Yukon Territory and British Columbia and the American state of Alaska signed a treaty called the Yukon River Watershed Inter-Tribal Accord which defined the purpose of the YRITWC and established a council. YRITWC is a multi-government advisory, advocacy, and monitoring group with a two-fold mission "to protect the environmental integrity of the River's watershed and to preserve the cultural vitality of the indigenous communities that are dependent upon and part of the watershed".[2]
