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Who are the indigenous peoples of the Arctic?

The Arctic is home to more than 40 indigenous peoples. They include the Inuit of Canada, Greenland and Alaska, the Yupik and Iñupiat of Alaska, the Sámi of northern Europe, and the Nenets, Chukchi, Evenki and others of northern Russia. Indigenous people are about a tenth of the Arctic's roughly four million residents.

Arctic peoples live across eight countries: Canada, the United States, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark through Greenland. Iceland has no indigenous population. In Greenland and in Nunavut, Inuit are the majority, and both have their own governments. In most other Arctic regions indigenous peoples are a minority.

Traditional livelihoods are suited to cold lands and seas: hunting seals, whales, walrus and caribou, fishing, and herding reindeer. These remain important for food and culture, alongside wage work, government and business. Wild food is still widely shared between households.

Six indigenous organisations sit as Permanent Participants in the Arctic Council, the region's main intergovernmental forum. They represent Inuit, Sámi, Aleut, Athabaskan and Gwich'in peoples and the indigenous peoples of northern Russia. They take part in the council's discussions alongside the eight member states.

The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet. Thinning sea ice, thawing ground and changing animal movements affect travel, hunting and herding. Arctic peoples are also dealing with mining, oil and gas, and shipping on their lands and waters.

Words used here

InuitSámiAlaska NativeReindeer herdingSubsistenceSelf-determination

Sources

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