This paper discusses the new protected area designation of Conservancy in BC, and argues that it marks a positive shift in government policy concerning protected areas and the role of Indigenous peoples in provincial land use and resource management and conservation. The authors present a review of the Conservancy designation within a legal and political ecology context, and assess some of the related opportunities and challenges presented by this new designation. The data were gathered through document, literature and legal reviews, complemented by field research observations and personal communications with key informants from the Gitga’at First Nation. This article is available through university e-proxy.