Robert Arthur Alexie, aka Robert Alexie Jr., was the President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, which encompasses Gwich'in in four communities -Fort McPherson, Aklavik, Inuvik, and Tsiigehtchic, that is, most of the Gwich'in people in the Northwest Territories. Each of these bands has its own local council - the Tetlit Gwich'in, Gwichya Gwich'in, Ehdiitat Gwich'in and Nihtat Gwich'in.
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations, "Alexie, 58, was a major force behind the Gwich’in regional land claim in 1992. The Gwich'in were the first Dene group to negotiate their own claim after the comprehensive claim — for all five Dene groups [Gwich'in, Sahtu, Deh Cho, Tlicho, Denesuline] and the Métis — collapsed in 1990."
Alexie had a long career of service to the Gwich'in people, both in his home community of Fort McPherson and throughout the Mackenzie Delta region. He served as band manager for the Tetlit Gwichin of Fort McPherson, before being elected Chief of that community in 1989. He was named the Chief Negotiator for all the Gwich'in in claims negotiations with the federal government in 1991, and led the Gwich'in team in achieving an agreement in 1992. This was only the second comprehensive land claim agreement in the NWT, the first being that of the Gwich'in's Beaufort-Delta neighbours, the Inuvialuit, in 1984. It was the first "modern treaty" with a Dene group in the NWT.
The Gwich'in agreement was highly significant for the well-being of Aboriginal people in the region.
"Under the Agreement, the Gwich’in received title to 22,422 square kilometres of land in the Northwest Territories (NWT) and 1,554 square kilometres of land in Yukon. Included in the NWT lands, the Gwich'in own 6,158 square kilometres of subsurface, including mines and minerals that may be found to exist within, upon or under such lands... The Gwich’in received $141 million in tax-free capital transfers over 15 years. A $7.4 million capital transfer payment was made to the Gwich’in Tribal Council on the proclamation of the Gwich’in Land Claim Settlement Act. Additional payments were made on each anniversary of the signing of the Agreement. The Gwich'in also receives an annual share of resource royalties collected by the Government of Canada from resource development in the Mackenzie Valley.
"The Gwich’in also have guaranteed wildlife harvesting rights such as the exclusive right to harvest fur bearers throughout the Gwich'in Settlement Area. Gwich'in has guaranteed representation on institutions of public government established to manage wildlife and regulate land, water, and the environment in the Gwich’in Settlement Area.
The Agreement also provides for the negotiation of self-government agreements, which would be brought into effect through federal or territorial legislation, or both."
After the land claim agreement was in force, Alexie served for 13 years as Executive Director of the Gwich'in Land and Water Board, one of the co-management agencies set up under the agreement. He was elected as President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council in 2012. In that role, perhaps more controversially, but after community consultation, he signed on to the Devolution Agreement in Principle between the Government of the NWT and Canada, guaranteeing the Gwich'in a share of the GNWT's resource revenues as well as additional benefits and helping to move the devolution of powers from Canada to the NWT forward to its current implementation phase.
Alexie was noted for his cultural as well as political contributions, as a poet, musician and photographer. He was one of only two contemporary NWT Dene male novelists, and the only one still resident in the NWT. Porcupines and China Dolls (20012), his first novel, is significant not only artistically, but as a powerful contribution to the dialogue on the impact of residential schools on Canadian Aboriginal people.
See also <ref> www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/robert-alexie-jr-found-dead-on-dempster-highway-1.2671016 <ref><ref> www.daair.gov.nt.ca/_live/pages/wpPages/Gwich'inLandClaim.aspx <ref><ref> www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/gwich-in-officially-sign-n-w-t-devolution-aip-1.1181344 <ref><ref> http://www.quillandquire.com/review/porcupines-and-china-dolls/ <ref>Qwerfjkl (bot) (talk) 17:28, 23 January 2024 (UTC)