Indigenous

On Sept. 4, 1991, Canada and the Inuvialuit Nation jointly harvested a bowhead whale off Shingle Point in the Western Arctic. The first harvest under the 1984 Inuvialuit Final Agreement showed how Indigenous knowledge, federal science, and Alaska’s Inupiat hunters could collaborate to sustainably manage a protected species, reinforcing community cohesion.

Three western Alaskan tribes – Hooper Bay, Paimiut and Chevak – together with the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges and Sierra Club have sued in Anchorage court to block a July 10 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wetlands‑fill permit for a 19‑mile gravel road that would cut through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge’s protected wetlands and connect the isolated community of King Cove with Cold Bay’s airstrip. Plaintiffs argue the permit failed to consider impacts on migratory waterfowl, geese and Yup’ik subsistence hunting. The defendants are the Corps,...

Salmon runs on Alaska’s Yukon River have collapsed—Chinook down 81 % and chum 92 % below long‑term averages by 2022—leading to a seven‑year Chinook fishing moratorium under an Alaska‑Canada agreement in 2024. The loss has driven a 24.6 % rise in diabetes and a 70 % increase in prediabetes among tribal members, prompting leaders like Tirzah Bryant and Brian Ridley to push for stricter fishery management and cultural food revival programs.

Canada’s federal government announced $155.4 million for Nunavut projects – $81.3 M for housing and post‑secondary over ten years, plus $74.1 M for health over three. Allocation details remain pending, but the money could fund expansions in communities such as Kugaaruk, support construction at Nunavut Arctic College, and continue a partnership to deliver 750 homes with the GN.

Local residents and researchers, led by Collins and the Sapujiyiit Society, have entered the second year of monitoring sea‑ice algae in Nunavut’s Chesterfield Inlet. Data collected via the SIKU app tracks ecosystem changes that impact Indigenous communities and bolsters early oil‑spill detection.

A native‑led coalition led by Cupik director Michelle Sparck is boosting Alaska Native voter turnout for the August 18 primary and November 3 midterm. Partners such as the Alaska Federation of Natives, First Nations Institute, Cook Inlet Tribal Council, and the Carter Center tackle gaps like unmanned polling stations and mail‑ballot rejections.

In the Yukon River, Ichthyophonus infections surged during warmer water conditions, reaching up to 49% of Chinook salmon in 2022. The parasite causes white spots, mushy texture and a sour‑watermelon smell, and is linked to an ~80 % drop in returns that year. As a result, Canadian fisheries along the river are closed entirely through 2030 under the 2024 Alaska‑Canada agreement.

Herb Nakimayak was elected president of Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada on July 21 in Iqaluit by 13 leadership members, winning 11 votes to Kilikvak Kabloona’s two. He will serve until the 2030 election and previously led as interim since September 2025. The council spans Inuit across Russian Chukotka, Alaska, the NWT, Nunavut, Quebec, Labrador and Greenland. Nakimayak pledged to continue campaigning against EU seal‑skin bans, Etsy’s fur prohibition, and to navigate geopolitical pressures such as U.S. claims on Greenland and Chinese icebreakers.

At its 15th General Assembly in Iqaluit on July 22‑23 2026, about 400 Inuit delegates from Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia’s Chukotka agreed to pursue Arctic peace and stability while safeguarding indigenous ways of life and sovereignty. The council also confirmed a chairmanship transition from Greenland to Canada.