Arctic Indigenous People

People have been living in the arctic circle for over 4,400 years and currently 4 million people live within arctic areas. There are around 40 different ethnic groups all with very specific connections to the land. They all have very distinct languages, culture and traditional livelihoods. Industrialization, social change and environmental problems such as climate change, however, present threats to the continuity of these livelihoods and culture.

Climate change significantly impacts the traditional harvesting activities of indigenous peoples. Rapid weather changes and occurrence of thin ice and severe weather conditions (e.g. strong winds and storms) makes hunting more dangerous. Furthermore, disappearing sea ice affects many species that are subject to harvest, for instance polar bears, seals, whales and some fish stocks depend on ice cover. Additionally, the ice plays an important role in sea temperature regulation and primary productivity. As a result, the livelihoods connected with hunting, fishing and herding are under threat. Indigenous peoples have an especially strong bond with nature and the changes in harvesting activities may have implications on the economy, society, culture and health.

Source - http://www.arcticcentre.org/EN/communications/arcticregion/Arctic-Indigenous-Peoples

We are particularly keen to hear from members of local communities.

On our recent trip to Oulu, Finland for the Innovative Approaches Conference we meet with some very interesting people. Please see;

• Okalik Eegeesiak
• Tiina Sanila-Aikio
• Hjalmar Dahl

We are looking to build on this initial good start so that the solutions we propose are guided by local knowledge and expertise.