Arctic Peoples

by Clive Tesar

Canadian Inuit are opposing vigorous lobbying efforts to get the polar bear listed as “threatened” under the American Endangered Species Act. The US government has been considering the action since 2006. Now three conservation groups, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace are threatening to sue the US government to get it to proceed with the listing. Canadian Inuit say the environmentalists are taking aim at the wrong target.

Two organizations that represent Inuit in Canada are disagreeing with the tactic of using the polar bear to try to force the American government to take action on climate change. Duane Smith, the president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada) says,

“I don’t see how listing it as threatened will complement the sustainability of the population. It is climate change that is the problem, not the sustainable hunting of polar bears.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat in collaboration with Elonmerkki and the Saami Council are proud to announce that the documentary “Last Yoik in Saami Forests?” now is available on DVD and for download. The DVDs will be distributed to interested Universities in the Arctic Region and/or with a special interest in Arctic Indigenous Issues.

To get a copy for use at your University, contact us at ips@arcticpeoples.org, and specify the format (NTSC for North America, PAL for Europe/Russia). For individual requests for a copy of the DVD we ask you to contact the producer at www.elonmerkki.net.

If you just want to see it online, and maybe download a compressed copy of it for your iPod, continue reading…

Read the rest of this entry »

Arctic Council Ministerial meeting" id="image75" title="Indigenous Leaders at the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting" src="http://www.arcticpeoples.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/pp_salekhard.jpg" />

At the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in [GP:Salekhard], Russia, Indigenous Leaders from the circumpolar Arctic region delivered strong messages to the Arctic Council .

Watch the statements here in their original languages. Russian/English transcripts will be added later.

Read the rest of this entry »

NEWS RELEASE 26/10/2006

Leaders of Indigenous Peoples from around the Arctic wrapped up their meeting with the Arctic Council in [GP:Salekhard] today. The end of the meeting marks the end of Russia’s two-year chairing of the eight-nation Council. It was attended by Foreign Ministers from several countries, as well as the Indigenous Leaders. While the Indigenous Leaders praised the achievements of the Council over the past two years, they also took the opportunity to point out to the Ministers that many pressing issues in the Arctic remain. The Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North ( RAIPON ) told Ministers that development pressures, particularly in areas such as the Amur River watershed are facing development pressures and pollution that are threatening reindeer pastures, hunting and fishing activities, and sacred sites.

Read the rest of this entry »

AIA has published a newsletter. The focus in this edition of the newsletter is:

Special Interest, Articles:

• Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Project (PSP)
• Bering Sea Sub-Network (BSSN)

Individual Highlights:

• AIA Staff and Board
• AIA Projects
• Industry Acronyms
• Calendar of Events

The Aleut International Association (AIA) is an Alaska Native not-for-profit corporation registered in the State of Alaska, United States, in 1998.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Clive Tesar

Some early findings are beginning to flow from the oil and gas assessment being conducted by the Arctic Council under the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program. Michael Baffrey, from the United States Department of the Interior is working on one of the chapters in the Assessment, dealing with social and economic effects of oil and gas development.

Speaking to the K’atlodeeche Summit of Arctic leaders, Baffrey gave a summary of the chapter, including some draft findings:

Read the rest of this entry »

by Clive Tesar

In early December, Indigenous Leaders from all across the Arctic came together to talk about issues affecting them all. This was the Arctic Leaders’ Summit, a special meeting that only happens every four years. The Leaders meet at other times, usually at the Arctic Council , but those meetings centre on the Arctic Council ’s agenda. At the Leaders’ Summit, the Indigenous Peoples are free to set their own agenda, to discuss the concerns that they have, and work out how to tackle those concerns.This year’s Summit took place at two different places and times. This was because a big gathering of people was taking place in Montreal, Canada, to talk about climate change. The Arctic Leaders were keen to make sure that the thousands of Delegates to this meeting understood the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. To help this happen, they wrote an Arctic Leaders Declaration on climate change.

At the end of the Montreal meeting, the Leaders Summit began again, thousands of kilometres to the north, in the Dene community of [GP:Katlodeeche] (near to the town of Hay River) in the Northwest Territories of Canada. This was hosted by the Arctic Athabaskan Council .

Read the rest of this entry »