Arctic Peoples

by Clive Tesar

Representatives of Permanent Participant organizations made a solid impact at recent climate change negotiations in Montreal, Canada. A space was set aside by the Government of Canada for one day during the negotiations to highlight the concerns of Arctic Peoples. As “Arctic Day” started, the room was packed with people eager to see the traditional drumming and dancing of the Inuvialuit from northern Canada, members of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. The room remained full throughout the day, as people streamed in to see the various cultural performances, including dancers and singers from the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, drummers from the Arctic Athabaskan Council , and even an Inuit fashion show.The cultural events helped to draw people to the messages that the political Leaders had to deliver. The Leaders used speeches, as well as videos, and collections of traditional knowledge to drive across their point that climate change is already affecting the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, and threatens to have even stronger impacts if countries do not take firm and immediate actions to slow the rate of warming in the Arctic.
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