Indigenous

The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics marked its 65th year with a four-day celebration at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, drawing athletes and cultural performers from Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Siberia to reinforce indigenous traditions across the circumpolar North.

Grey whale carcasses found along British Columbia and Washington coastlines this year suggest a link between warming seas, reduced prey in the Bering/Chukchi feeding grounds, and the species’ rapid decline. Researchers urge designation as endangered to protect the remaining populations.

A new partnership between the Alaska Federation of Natives and Alaska Native Rural Veterinary Inc. has launched a program that brings spay/neuter, vaccination, and routine veterinary care to villages such as Galena on the Yukon River, aiming to curb dog overpopulation and prevent zoonotic diseases like rabies in remote Arctic communities.

Russia’s Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs is run by former FSB and other security personnel who lead its delegation to UN forums, while key employees receive substantial funding from Norilsk Nickel. This blend of state intelligence ties, corporate influence, and recent arrests of activists like Darya Yegereva raises doubts about the independence of Arctic indigenous advocacy.

On 10 June, Greenland Energy’s spokesman Robert Price told residents of Ittoqqortoormiit that the Texas firm had permits for equipment placement and was preparing to drill two wells in Jameson Land, but Greenland’s mineral‑resources ministry said no active exploration permissions exist and the company’s proposals are pending approval.

GNWT held community engagement sessions in four Beaufort Delta communities to collect feedback on the proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway corridor from Norman Wells to Inuvik.

Rosemary Ahtuangaruak warns that the Department of Interior’s proposed rule would turn the Western Arctic into an unrestricted industrial zone, sidestepping assessment of impacts on caribou, subsistence and water.

$7.4 million from federal, territorial and Inuit groups will fund two new food‑processing plants—$3.6 M in Taloyoak and $3.8 M in Gjoa Haven—to boost local food security and create jobs over the next three years.

Federal, Nunavut and Inuit bodies rejected the 2023 Nunavut Land Use Plan, citing it still needs additional work to satisfy the Nunavut Agreement and fully reflect Inuit rights, environmental stewardship and sustainable development goals.

Prime Minister Carney and President Natan Obed jointly led an Inuit‑Crown Partnership Committee meeting that reinforced Canadian‑Inuit collaboration on Arctic affairs, following Virginia Mearns’ appointment as Arctic Ambassador.

China Minmetals owns Nunavut’s Izok Corridor zinc mine. Canada has pledged $1 billion for a deep‑water port and 230‑km road—Grays Bay Road & Port—that would link to the mine, yet federal security reviews question whether the project can be approved amid concerns over Chinese investment.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami hosted an Arctic sovereignty forum in Ottawa earlier this month, setting the stage for a meeting with Canadian ministers, including Carney, underscoring growing tensions over policy decisions affecting Inuit communities.

Fort Simpson’s residents were ordered to evacuate at 7:20 p.m. as wildfire FS016 expanded to 420 ha and temperatures hit 33 °C, with the town’s mayor designating Yellowknife as the evacuation destination after almost 500 residents had registered online for a possible move.

Natan Obed’s recent call for greater Arctic security has sparked criticism for its separatist undertones, prompting a discussion with media moderator Rob Russo and Makivvik Corp president Pita Aatami.

Alaska GOP is pushing an 800‑mile natural gas terminal and pipeline that could significantly impact climate and disrupt moose and caribou migrations, endangering Iñupiat subsistence hunting.

The project pairs AAFC with the Arctic Research Foundation to grow produce outdoors in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, aiming to boost local food availability and sustainable farming.

Construction of a new military headquarters and accompanying housing facility on Yellowknife’s outskirts has begun, part of a $30 billion defense push that critics say eclipses needed social and environmental investments in the North.

Canada will pour up to $50 million into a 51‑km spur road that connects the Nico bismuth mine to the Tłı̨chǫ Highway, a move that could unlock a world‑largest deposit and strengthen domestic supply chains for metals essential to the energy transition.