Stop romanticizing Arctic development say indigenous leaders

Aili Keskitalo, president of the Sami Parliament of Norway, called on politicians to stop romanticizing resource development in the Far North when she addressed Arctic Frontiers on Monday. (Eilis Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)
Aili Keskitalo, president of the Sami Parliament of Norway, called on politicians and industry to stop romanticizing resource development in the Far North when she addressed Arctic Frontiers on Monday. (Eilis Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)
TROMSO, Norway – Indigenous communities around the North are struggling economically and want development more than ever, as long as it’s done on their terms and with their full partnership.

That was the message sent by a host of Arctic indigenous leaders from the worlds of politics and business when they addressed the opening policy session of the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromso, Norway on Monday.

Aili Keskitalo, president of the Sami Parliament of Norway, the body that represents indigenous reindeer herders, said it’s hard to overstate the challenges climate change is putting on northern communities, which include external business and political pressures competing for land and resources.

“History has shown us it is not enough to trust others,” Keskitalo said. “Indigenous peoples all have stories to tell about historical blunders carried out in the name of modern economy and development.”

Victims of both climate mitigation and resource extraction
(iStock)
Even climate mitigation strategies like wind power can hurt indigenous communities when they are left out of the decision making process, leaders say. (iStock)

Unfortunately, many of these `blunders’ continue on today.

The installation of renewable energy like wind turbine farms is wreaking havoc across Sapmi, the traditional Saami homeland that stretches from Arctic Norway through Sweden and Finland and into northwestern Russia.

In Sweden and in Norway these wind farms have destroyed traditional reindeer grazing lands and caused mental and financial issues for the Saami that rely on the animals to make a living.

Even today, companies like Fred. Olsen Renewables are planning 72 wind turbines in important grazing and calving lands for the Norwegian reindeer herding districts of Aarjel-Njaarke and Voengelh-Njaarke. Despite Saami opposition, the project has been approved by authorities (in Norwegian).

“I call for responsible leadership from political authorities and from the industrial (actors) in the North,” Keskitalo said at the conference. “The indigenous peoples are ready to join to find viable solutions for climate, energy and resources. It is imperative however, that we are seen as part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

Focus on people, not icebergs and animals
“Far to often when we talk about climate change in the Arctic, no mention is made of the peoples of the Arctic,” Vittus Qujaukitsoq, Greenland's minister for Finance, Mineral Resources and Foreign Affairs, said on Monday. “The human dimension is all to often neglected as if the Arctic were a wild life sanctuary without human inhabitants.”
“Far to often when we talk about climate change in the Arctic, no mention is made of the peoples of the Arctic,” Vittus Qujaukitsoq, Greenland’s minister for Finance, Mineral Resources and Foreign Affairs, said on Monday. “The human dimension is all to often neglected as if the Arctic were a wild life sanctuary without human inhabitants.”

Changing the way political, industry and environmental leaders talk about the Arctic is the first step, indigenous leaders say.

“The Arctic is so much more than icebergs, ice sheets and animals used as a symbol for western conservation movements,” said Vittus Qujaukitsoq, Greenland’s minister for Finance, Mineral Resources and Foreign Affairs.  “The Arctic is inhabited by people who have lived there for thousands of years.”

This idea that the Arctic is an empty place has allowed southerners to continue to project their values and aspirations on the region.

This needs to be corrected, Qujaukitsoq said.

“It’s important to underline that it’s the peoples of the Arctic that should be making the important decisions. It’s not for other countries, whether they be in Europe, North America or Asia or elsewhere, to determine the future. It should be for the peoples of the Arctic to determine their own fate and future in cooperation with international partners.”

Development brings infrastructure, jobs
A group of people stand inside the gold mine in Greenland's Nulanaq mountain. Greenland’s underground wealth has been at the forefront of the Greenland's last wo elections amid worries over everything from the environmental consequences of mining to the potential influx of Chinese labor and the environmental consequences of mining. (Joachim Adrian/POLFOTO/AP)
A group of people stand inside the gold mine in Greenland’s Nulanaq mountain in this 2009 file photo. Underground wealth has been at the forefront of Greenland’s last two elections amid worries over everything from the environmental consequences of mining to the potential influx of Chinese labour. (Joachim Adrian/POLFOTO/AP)

Greenland is an example of how that can be done right, he says.

The autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark is rich in uranium and rare earth elements used in everything from cars and airplanes to computer screens and x-rays projects.

Australia’s Greenland Minerals and Energy Limited will be exploiting the Kvanefjeld project in South Greenland, something that will create jobs, know-how and much needed infrastructure in this remote region.

The mining question hasn’t been without controversy, but the Greenlandic government is convinced that it’s doing things right. Resource extraction is providing much needed economic diversification, especially important when 90 per cent of Greenland’s current exports is related to the volatile fishing industry.

‘Going local’

Resource development in the Arctic, guided and regulated by the indigenous communities who live there, is key to moving ahead in the future, said Tara Sweeney, an Inupiat businesswoman from Alaska who is now Chair of the Arctic Economic Council, a body set up under Canada’s Arctic Council chairmanship (2013-2015) to promote business in northern communities.

“The people of the Arctic are your Arctic experts,” she said. “We are subject matter experts with a knowledge base that should not be overlooked or undervalued. We are successful businessmen and women who also hunt, fish and gather.

“The perfect de-risking agent for any project or economic development opportunity is local buy-in.”

Foreign ministers and politicians at Arctic Frontiers stressed the importance of respecting indigenous people in the North on Monday, but Aili Keskitalo, president of the Sami Parliament of Norway (pictured above) told Eye on the Arctic that they needed to 'walk the walk' and not just 'talk the talk.' (Eilis Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)
Foreign ministers and politicians at Arctic Frontiers stressed the importance of respecting indigenous people in the North on Monday, but Aili Keskitalo, president of the Sami Parliament of Norway (pictured above) told Eye on the Arctic that they needed to ‘walk the walk’ and not just ‘talk the talk.’ (Eilis Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)

At the conference, Saami politician Aili Keskitalo finished her address with a challenge to the political and business leaders in the audience.

“I would wish for less (romanticization) of the industrial possibilities and more open eyes to the harsh reality of what our skies, our lands and seas are telling us,” she said.

“We often hear arguments about how (indigenous peoples) must adjust to changing times and we have done so. That is why we are still here. Now it’s the governments and business sector’s turn to change their values as well as their attitudes and actions towards the world’s indigenous peoples.”

Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Arctic missing from Paris climate agreement, Eye on the Arctic

Finland: Sámi politician calls Finland “racist country”, Yle News

Greenland: What the EU seal ban has meant for Inuit communities in the Arctic, Eye on the Arctic

Norway:  Norway visa rules worry indigenous peoples, Barents Observer

Sweden:  Sami demand rights as indigenous people, Radio Sweden

Russia:  Russia brands Arctic indigenous organization as “foreign agent,” Barents Observer

United States:  Arctic conference spotlights indigenous issues, Alaska Dispatch News

 

 

 

 

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

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