The Indigenous World 2024: Arctic Council

Written on 25 March 2024. Posted in Arctic Council

The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation among the Arctic States, Arctic Indigenous Peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.

Arctic Indigenous Peoples are represented on the Council by six Indigenous organizations (Permanent Participants). The category of Permanent Participant was created to provide for active participation and full consultation with the Arctic Indigenous Peoples within the Council.

They are the Aleut International Association, the Arctic Athabaskan Council, the Gwich’in Council International, the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the Saami Council.

Decisions of the Arctic Council are taken by consensus among the eight Arctic Council States, with full consultation and involvement of the Permanent Participants.

The Chair of the Arctic Council rotates every two years among the Arctic States. The Chair of the Arctic Council is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country holding the Chair.

This article is part of the 38^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous man harvesting quinoa in Sunimarka, Peru. This photo was taken by Pablo Lasansky, and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2024 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2024 in full here

Indigenous Peoples and the uniqueness of the Arctic Council

The Arctic is a home to over 500,000 Indigenous people, spanning three continents and 30 million km². Indigenous Peoples represent approximately 10% of the total population of the Arctic.^[1] They have lived on their Arctic homelands for millennia and adapted and evolved over many centuries, turning specialist knowledge of their lands into a deep appreciation of all living beings within their unique environment. However, in recent decades many new challenges have emerged.

Facing the challenges of rapid change in the Arctic region requires true cooperation and the best knowledge available. Climate, environmental and socio-economic issues affect the inhabitants of the Arctic and many of these issues are cross-boundary by nature. Forest and tundra fires, permafrost thaw, land degradation, pollution, changes in legal and management regimes of natural resources are examples of such issues that raise challenges, especially in the Indigenous communities, and lead to severe impacts on Indigenous ways of life, including potential relocation of Indigenous Peoples from their home communities due to climate change. Two examples are the community of Tuktoyaktuk in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the western Canadian Arctic^[2] and the village of Shishmaref in Alaska.^[3] These challenges can only be solved by cooperation, using all available knowledge, including the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and scientific knowledge.

The unique feature of the Arctic Council is that it brings together representatives of the Indigenous Peoples and of the Arctic States at the same table to discuss issues of common concern. The consensus-based decision-making is fundamental to this cooperation.

Indigenous Peoples’ organizations have taken an active part in the political proceedings of the Council, including writing declarations, negotiating key documents and agreements, and actively participating in Ministerial meetings. Most importantly, however, they contribute their knowledge at the expert level of the Arctic Council’s work. They initiate and lead projects, for example on health and mental wellness, green energy, wildland fires, and waste management. The Arctic Council Indigenous food project, Indigenous Youth, Food Knowledge and Arctic Change (EALLU),^[4] is one example of this unique cooperation. The project aims to develop a sustainable and resilient reindeer husbandry in the Arctic in the face of climate change and globalization and is working towards creating a better life for circumpolar reindeer herders. The project has become a model of how to engage youth in the Council’s work.

The Arctic Council is one of the few international arenas that proactively includes and welcomes Indigenous knowledge and perspectives when developing policies addressing climate change, environmental pollution and socio-economic problems. For this reason, Indigenous Peoples support the Arctic Council as a model for decision-making and addressing the challenges caused by the rapid change in the Arctic. Indigenous Peoples’ Traditional Knowledge holds significant value in the Arctic Council. The Ottawa Declaration recognized “the traditional knowledge of the [I]ndigenous [P]eople[s] of the Arctic and their communities” and took note “of its importance and that of Arctic science and research to the collective understanding of the circumpolar Arctic”.^[5]

The art of Arctic diplomacy 2023: transition to Norwegian Chairship^[6]

In recent years, the Arctic Council’s work has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions hindering opportunities to host in-person Arctic Council meetings and, to varying degrees, hampering project work. The Arctic Council family represents a broad network of representatives of States, Indigenous Peoples, observer countries and organizations, as well as knowledge holders and scientific experts. In-person meetings of the Arctic Council have been key to the success of Arctic multilateral cooperation, fostering understanding and finding joint solutions.

In March 2022, all official meetings of the Arctic Council were paused. The pause caused some concerns that Indigenous communities could be left behind when it came to shaping policies in the Arctic. However, a consensus was reached in the Arctic Council to make critical decisions at the political level through a written procedure. The written procedure for decision-making allowed the Council to find a constructive approach for the transition of the Council’s Chairship from the Russian Federation to Norway in May 2023.

All of the Arctic States and the Permanent Participants participated in a hybrid format in the 13^th Arctic Council meeting on 11 May 2023 and confirmed that they wanted to sustain and strengthen the Council.^[7] The meeting marked the transition from the Russian to the Norwegian Chairship and, since then, Norway has been leading the efforts to achieve this goal.

In 2023, the Council proved once again that it can withstand the most challenging times in international politics, and the transition between the Arctic Council Chairs is rightfully called an art of diplomacy.

Norwegian Arctic Council priorities 2023-2025

Norway’s priorities for the Arctic Council are based on its general long-term priorities in the Arctic. Through four thematic areas – the oceans; climate and environment; sustainable economic development; and people in the North – Norway is continuing the Council’s efforts to work together towards a sustainable Arctic region. Arctic youth and Arctic Indigenous Peoples are crosscutting priorities of the Norwegian Chairship.^[8]

However, the overall priority for Norway during its Chairship is to maintain the Arctic Council as the premier forum for cooperation and collaboration in the Arctic. Norway worked hard and successfully on resuming the Council’s activities following the pause. Examples of such achievements are the resumption of decision-making at the Arctic Council Working Groups’ level, providing guidelines for the new modalities of Arctic Council work, identifying projects where the Arctic Council can continue its cooperation, and so forth.

In addition, Norway launched a Wildland Fires Initiative, an inspiring effort and example of advancing the Arctic Council agenda.^[9] The Wildland Fires Initiative will provide an information sharing platform to gather collective expertise, experiences and resources on wildland fires from the Arctic Council’s Indigenous Permanent Participants, Working Groups and Observers, as well as relevant external actors. The Permanent Participants have been encouraged by this initiative and expressed a readiness to actively contribute and co-lead. The initiative has a true circumpolar and inclusive nature. All six Permanent Participants have their own perspectives about how the wildland fires affect their communities, as well as diverse knowledge on cultural fire practices and management. The Indigenous Peoples’ organizations of the Arctic Council have underlined the importance of including Arctic Council observers, who have substantial capacity in this area and of incorporating Russian experience and knowledge of wildland fire work.

Edward Alexander, the Co-Chair of the Gwich’in Council International and Co-Chair of the Wildland Fires Initiative noted: “The Arctic is not just melting, it is on fire!”^[10] And Morten Høglund, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials confirmed: “Wildland fires are a growing emergency, and a prime example of why we need circumpolar cooperation. Wildland fires, their smoke and their impacts to communities, ecosystems and the climate are transboundary.”^[11]

Norway has committed to strengthening cooperation with the Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and underlined the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ contribution to both political and expert levels of the Council´s work. The Norwegian team and the Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials have made great efforts to hear the Permanent Participants’ voices and assure their strong and integral role in the Arctic Council’s decision-making.

A historical meeting in Girkonjárga/Kirkenes, Norway

The Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council hosted a meeting with the six Permanent Participants in Girkonjárga/Kirkenes, Norway on 2-3 October 2023.^[12] Given that diplomatic-level meetings at the State level remain on pause, this meeting can be regarded as historic. The meeting happened alongside the Arctic regional gathering of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This LCIPP meeting was co-organized by the Saami Council and the Inuit Circumpolar Council and set the stage for the discussions in Girkonjárga/Kirkenes.

At the gathering, Indigenous knowledge holders, experts and political representatives worked together on issues such as assessing the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystems, Indigenous Peoples and local communities; sharing experiences and approaches of Indigenous Peoples about climate-induced risks, adaptation, and mitigation; and advancing an understanding of the societal implications associated with climate-related changes. Indigenous knowledge holders and leaders presented their views on the Human Rights Framework in relation to climate change, discussed ethical and equitable climate action, climate justice and rights-based approaches to addressing climate change, and held a dialogue with Parties and observers to share their reflections of Indigenous Peoples’ visions and solutions.

The significance of these events is difficult to overestimate. The Norwegian Chairship – Permanent Participants meeting in Girkonjárga/Kirkenes was an important step in the Arctic Council’s resumption process. All six Permanent Participants met in-person and held in-depth discussions with the Chairship team about the status of the Arctic Council cooperation, the resumption of its activities and the implementation of its programme, including the Chairship’s crosscutting priorities on Indigenous Peoples and youth. All Indigenous Permanent Participant delegations took the floor to share their priorities for the Arctic Council’s work, identified their priorities at the Working Group level and reconfirmed their readiness to actively contribute to the Council’s work.

The Indigenous Permanent Participants called for more opportunities to meet in person. As a result, the Norwegian Chairship hosted a follow-up meeting back-to-back with the Arctic Frontiers Conference in January 2024 in Tromsø, Norway. This second meeting between the Arctic Council Chair and Permanent Participants meeting also included the Permanent Participants’ youth representatives and gave an opportunity for both positive contributions to the Arctic Frontiers Conference and further constructive interactions with the Chairship and broader Arctic Council family.^[13]

The importance of Indigenous cooperation and contribution to the Arctic Council: a breakthrough in 2024

The Permanent Participants strongly support the resumption of Arctic Council cooperation. They are an integral part of the Arctic Council's decision-making process and are actively engaged with Working Groups’ Heads of Delegation and Senior Arctic Officials in finding common ground when it comes to Arctic Council matters. The Indigenous leaders have raised concerns that the written procedures for the resumption of Arctic Council activities weaken the Permanent Participants’ position. Their opinion is that using written procedures is leading to the Arctic Council losing its uniqueness and validity if Permanent Participants are not able to be a part of developing the consensus that happens through the kind of dialogue that only takes place around the table.

The pause and Arctic Council work through written procedures highlighted the fact that the engagement of Indigenous Peoples in the decision-making of the Council had been stronger in practice than is safeguarded in its steering documents. The Permanent Participants have called for moving from written procedures to other ways of having meaningful discussions and reaching a consensus on Arctic Council decisions. The Indigenous Permanent Participants are therefore supporting the efforts of the Norwegian Chairship to advance the resumption of the Council’s work.

A breakthrough occurred in February 2024 when it was announced that a consensus had been reached to resume official Working Group meetings in a virtual format, enabling better coordination and expansion of project work.^[14] Sara Olsvig, the International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council notes: “Resuming virtual meetings of the Arctic Council Working Groups is a key step in maintaining and advancing the strong partnerships built over decades, as well as the full and effective participation of Arctic Indigenous Peoples in the work of the Arctic Council.”^[15]

While virtual Working Group meeting activities will be the first of such meetings to take place since March 2022, diplomatic-level meetings of the Senior Arctic Officials will remain on pause until such time as a consensus is reached by the Arctic States on ways forward, with the active participation and full consultation of Permanent Participants.

The engagement of Indigenous Peoples makes the Arctic Council unique at an international level. The wise perspectives of the Permanent Participants and their knowledge enhances the Council’s work. Without the Permanent Participants, the Arctic Council might have resembled many other international fora that were unable to continue their cooperation in the current geopolitical environment. And, vice versa, through their participation in the work of the Arctic Council, the Indigenous Permanent Participants’ organizations have strengthened their capacity and are today some of the strongest and most professional in the world’s Indigenous movement.

The Permanent Participants support the Arctic Council and the advancement of cooperation under its umbrella, as it is the Council that allows for peaceful cross-boundary and multilateral cooperation in the Arctic and the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in decision-making. At the historic meeting in Girkonjárga/Kirkenes and the subsequent meeting in Tromsø, Norway, Arctic Indigenous Peoples reconfirmed their responsibility to continue working together to contribute to stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic and to improve the condition for Indigenous communities in the Arctic.

Anna Degteva, Executive Secretary, Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat

Hjalmar Dahl, President, Inuit Circumpolar Council Greenland

Jessica Veldstra, Executive Director, Aleut International Association

Chief Bill Erasmus, Canadian Chair, Arctic Athabaskan Council

Rosa-Máren Magga, Adviser, Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat

This article is part of the 38^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous man harvesting quinoa in Sunimarka, Peru. This photo was taken by Pablo Lasansky, and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2024 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2024 in full here

Notes and references

^[1] FAO, 2019. Traditional knowledge and Indigenous Peoples’ Fisheries in the Arctic Region. Note on Expert Seminar on Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Peoples’ Fisheries in the Arctic Region. Rome, 23-24 September 2019. http://www.fao.org/uploads/media/Final_concept_note_Traditional_Knowledge_and_Indigenous_Fisheries_in_the_Arctic_Region.pdf

^[2] Future Tuktoyaktuk “It is likely that Tuktoyaktuk will have to relocate in the next 30 years.” https://futuretuktoyaktuk.org/about

^[3] John D. Sutter. “Tragedy of a village built on ice.” CNN, 29 March 2017. https://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/29/us/sutter-shishmaref-esau-tragedy/index.html

^[4] Anders Oskal, Ravdna Biret Marja Eira Sara, Kia Krarup-Hansen, Inger Anita Smuk & Svein Disch Mathiesen. “Reindeer Herders’ Food Knowledge Systems.” SpringerLink, 28 October 2023. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-42289-8_6

^[5] Ottawa Declaration 1996. https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/items/fb29e6d2-d60c-43ca-8e46-fa7a505033e0

^[6] Chairship is a new term introduced by Norway for its Chairmanship in the Arctic Council 2023-2025.

^[7] Arctic Council Statement on the Occasion of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Arctic Council, May 2023, https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/03b0a54b-7e41-45a8-ad04-0a6f1a59892c/content

^[8] “Norway’s Chairship of the Arctic Council 2023–2025.” Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Norway, 8 March 2023. https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/norways-chairship-of-the-arctic-council/id2968490/

^[9] Arctic Council. “Norwegian Chairship Launches Initiative to Address Wildland Fires in The Arctic.” 19 October 2023. https://arctic-council.org/news/norwegian-chairship-arctic-wildland-fires-initiative/

^[10] A quote from an oral presentation at the plenary session of the Arctic Circle Assembly, October 2023, Reykjavik.

^[11] Arctic Council. “Norwegian Chairship Launches Initiative to Address Wildland Fires in The Arctic.” 19 October 2023. https://arctic-council.org/news/norwegian-chairship-arctic-wildland-fires-initiative/

^[12] Arctic Council. “Norwegian Chairship Meets with Indigenous Permanent Participant Organizations.” 3 October 2023. https://arctic-council.org/news/Norwegian-chairship-meets-with-indigenous-permanent-participant-organizations/

^[13] Arctic Council. “Arctic Youth High on the Agenda During Norwegian Chairship Meeting with Indigenous Permanent Participant Organizations.” 29 January 2024. https://arctic-council.org/news/norwegian-chairship-meeting-with-indigenous-permanent-participant-organizations/

^[14] Arctic Council. “Arctic Council Advances Resumption of Project-Level Work.” 28 February 2024. https://arctic-council.org/news/arctic-council-advances-resumption-of-project-level-work/

^[15] Ibid.

Tags: Youth, Global governance, Climate, International Processes