Slave River Coalition, a project of Tides Canada Initiatives Society

The Slave River Coalition (SRC) brings people and communities together to secure, protect, and restore the natural balance of the Slave River and its connected waterways, a source of life sacred to all living beings. We raise awareness and appreciation for the cultural, recreational, ecological, and social importance of the Slave River and the ecosystem it supports.

SRC has been a part of the community since the 1970s, forming in response to direct threats to the health of the Slave River and larger Mackenzie River Basin, such as a proposed Slave River Dam and the call to innovate pulp and paper production on the Peace River to meet environmental standards. SRC has been successful by bringing powerful allies together in order to achieve a common goal of maintaining clean water, air and soils through the execution of various advocacy campaigns.

In 2014, SRC was recreated by a group of concerned residents of Fort Smith, NWT. The group decided that rather than having a short-lived reactive coalition appearing in response to imminent threats, that a permanent, proactive community-based organization working to continually raise awareness regarding not only threats on the Slave River, but also opportunities to mobilize the community was needed. SRC is actively working to tell the story of the Slave River through documenting heritage value, mapping uses, and celebrating the Slave River as a living river, building a powerful coalition of partners, and establishing ourselves as a water excellence hub in the South Slave.

SRC’s strategic goals are to:
1. Raise awareness and appreciation of the River
2. Gather knowledge through traditional and western knowledge
3. Protect the River from harm and restore it to its natural balance
4. Provide opportunities to reconnect people with the land/water
5. Respect and honour the Treaties and rights of Indigenous peoples
6. Uphold the basic human right to water
7. Collaborate with communities and organizations on projects of common interest