Indigenous Leaders’ Vision for the Arctic

Permanent Participant Side event at the Arctic Frontiers 2020

The Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples Secretariat and the Arctic Council’s Permanent Participants organized a Side Event on 28 January 2020 during the Arctic Frontiers 2020 to discuss the 6th Arctic Leaders’ Summit, a high-level Indigenous political gathering which took place in November 2019.

About the Arctic Leaders’ Summit

The Arctic Leaders’ Summit (ALS) is a unique, longstanding forum in which Indigenous Peoples from across the Arctic set their own priorities for discussion, bridge differences, and create common understanding particularly on matters related to the Arctic environment. In addition to the Permanent Participants, other prominent Arctic Indigenous leaders, Arctic States and Observers to the Arctic Council are invited to attend.

The Permanent Participants to the Arctic Council have organized five ALS since 1991 in Denmark, Norway, Russia and Canada. Each ALS has resulted in a declaration that can be found here.

The 6th Arctic Leaders’ Summit (ALS6) takes place 13-15 November 2019 in Rovaniemi, Finland.

ALS1 was an initiative by Saami Council, and organized by Inuit Circumpolar Conference (now known as the Inuit Circumpolar Council) in June 1991. The Saami Council hosted ALS2 in Tromsø, Norway in 1995. RAIPON has been the hosts of two ALS in Moscow: ALS3 in 1999 and ALS5 in 2010. The Arctic Athabascan Council hosted ALS4 in K’atlodeeche, Northwest Territories, Canada in 2006.

In 2019, the Saami Council hosted ALS6 and the first Arctic Youth Leaders’ Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland. The ALS6 and Youth Summit declarations are included together under ALS6 Declaration.

Click the buttons to read past Arctic Leaders’ Summit Declarations.