The Arctic Council supports fostering sustainable and meaningful collaboration and engagement with youth representatives.

Indigenous youth representatives at the first Arctic Leaders’ Youth Summit in 2019 called for a more active involvement in the issues that affect them, stating that Arctic youth are “not just the future but also the present”.

Following the discussions of SAO meeting in Hveragerði in 2019, the Permanent Participants took action by starting their youth initiative in 2020: The PP Youth Network. The PP Youth Network gathers youth representatives from each of the six PP organizations, who meet to discuss topics related to the Arctic Council.

The Arctic Youth Leaders’ Summit (AYLS) in November 2019 in Rovaniemi, Finland was the starting point for the Network. The summit gathered Indigenous youth from all over the Arctic and served as a platform to connect the youth. At the Summit, the PP youth called for more active involvement in the issues that affect them and by doing so they joined a global movement of young people that are speaking up for their rights as they see their future threatened by climate change.

However, some PPs have practiced youth engagement in the work of the Arctic Council already before 2020 by having youth representatives in their official delegations to the Arctic Council meetings. Many PPs have youth councils, youth initiatives and youth training and capacity building programs.

In November 2020, the PP Youth arranged AYLS online anniversary event that attracted 70 participants around the Arctic.

Meet the PP Youth Network representatives

Enni Similä, The Saami Council

Enni Similä is from Ivalo, a small village in the Finnish side of Sápmi. She is a bachelor's student at the University of Oulu majoring in Sámi culture and Northern Sámi language. Since 2019, she has been employed at the Saami Council, working at the Interreg project ‘Filling the EU Sápmi knowledge gaps’. Enni Similä also contributed to the organization of the 6th Arctic Leaders Summit and the first Arctic Youth Leaders’ Summit in November 2019 as a member of the Saami Council organizing team.

Beginning in 2017, Enni Similä was a part of the Finnish Sámi Youth Organization, coming the way from the secretary of the organization to its president in 2020. Enni Similä has been active in youth issues at the international level; in 2019, she participated at the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC) as the Arctic Focal point. On behalf of the Finnish Sámi Youth Organization, Similä participated at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues addressing human rights and mental health risks in Indigenous communities.

Darling Joy Anderson, Aleut International Association

Aang! (‘Hello’ in Ungangax, the language commonly known as Aleut). “My English name is Darling Joy Anderson. My Unangax name is Chngatux,” says Darling Joy Anderson from False Pass, Alaska, a small village located in the Aleutian Islands. Darling currently lives in Anchorage, Alaska and works at Aleut Pribilof Islands Association (#APIA) as the Cultural Heritage Coordinator.
Darling Anderson received her Bachelor’s degree in Rural Development from the University of Fairbanks Alaska in 2017 with hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in the coming years. In November 2019, on behalf of AIA Darling attended the first Arctic Leaders’ Youth Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland. She is also a member of the Permanent Participants Youth Network and she’s looking forward to working more with the Arctic Council.

“Currently, one of my major passions is learning my heritage language, Unangam tunuu,” says Darling. In pre-COVID times, Unangam Tunuu Community Nights were organized every Thursday evening in Anchorage and have now switched to online lessons. Darling also assists in hosting the Urban Unangax Culture Camp each year at APIA. Qaĝaasakuq! (‘Thank you!’)

Joshua Vo, Inuit Circumpolar Council Alaska

Joshua Vo lives and works in Anchorage, Alaska. Vo graduated from Mt. Edgecumbe High School and has his bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Joshua has been working with Koniag, a regional Alaska Native Corporation, and its federal contracting subsidiaries since 2016. Joshua Vo is passionate about Alaska Native affairs and participates in other organizations outside of work like the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, the Alaska Native Professional Association, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council - Alaska Emerging Leaders program, the initiative under the Utqiaġvik Declaration, which engages Inuit youth as future emerging leaders. Joshua is the mentee of Jimmy Stotts, ICC Head of Delegation to the Arctic Council. Joshua is also engaged in the Permanent Participants Youth Network. Joshua likes to spend his free time outdoors, especially fly fishing.

Deenaalee Chase-Hodgdon, Arctic Athabaskan Council

Deenaalee Chase-Hodgdon is from Anvik, Alaska. Deenaalee studied Anthropology and Public Policy at Brown University. She is a creator and host at ‘On The Land Media’, which is currently producing ‘On The Land Podcast’ highlighting Indigenous voices and their relationships to the land. Season 1 ‘Xilegg: Our Arctic Presence’ was released in March 2020, telling the story of the People from the Circumpolar North, tackling difficult discussions about communities and environment, and imagining the future of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples.

Being an active fisherwoman, Deenaalee Chase-Hodgdon advocates the rights of the local fishing community. When employed at Denali National Park, Chase-Hodgdon created two interpretive programs and provided knowledge about Alaskan Indigenous peoples and culture. Deenaalee Chase-Hodgdon is also a volunteer and an advisory board member of the Native Movement and Defend the Sacred, Alaska. Deenaalee acts as an Indigenous Observer at the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee and represents the Arctic Athabaskan Council in the Arctic Council PP Youth network. Between 2019 and 2020 Deenaalee attended the Alaska Just Transition Summit, Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit and Arctic Leaders’ Summit and other events in the Arctic.

Follow Deenaalee on Instagram @go_barefoot

Olga Chordu (Nikolaeva), RAIPON

Olga Chordu (Nikolaeva) is from Yakutsk, the capital in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Olga is Evenk, one of the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian North. Olga represented RAIPON at the first Arctic Leaders’ Youth Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, 18th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York, and 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Being an active community member and holding a Law degree, Olga is engaged in awareness-raising on the legislation and rights of the Indigenous Peoples.

She chairs the RAIPON Youth Council, which includes 28 Indigenous youth organizations from the Russian North. Olga calls the ‘Russian North’ Indigenous Youth Forum, which gathers 150 youth representatives of 41 Indigenous peoples every year, one of the most exciting initiatives of the Youth Council.

Olga stresses that “members of our Youth Council are the future defenders of the Indigenous Peoples rights. We listen to our elders and are trying our best to teach the future generations, so we can preserve and promote our traditions and save our Arctic”.

Follow Olga on Instagram @olgachordu

Welcome to Our Arctic Presence, a podcast series created by Indigenous Youth from throughout the circumpolar north in celebration of 25 years of the Arctic Council. Over the course of six episodes, you will learn about the Arctic Council and who the Permanent Participants are, hear stories from Arctic Indigenous Elders and Youth, and tune into crucial conversations taking place regarding Northern lands and waters.

The Arctic. It has always held its allure. Often known as the “Last Frontier,” the tundra and taiga that defines the topmost part of the northern hemisphere have been the subject of many an explorer’s daydream. This place, this frozen expanse technically known as a “desert” due to the low levels of precipitation that fall each year, is also known as home.

For millennia, the Arctic has been home to the Indigenous Peoples of the North. From Sápmi to Inuit Nunat, Gwichyaa Zhee’ to Denendeh, Tanax to Yakutia, stories ring from these lands. Though the Peoples have always been meeting and engaged in trade and ceremony with one another, Arctic cooperation was strengthened 25 years ago when the Indigenous Peoples joined the Arctic States of Iceland, Finland, Sweden, the Russian Federation, the Kingdom of Denmark, The United States of America, Norway, and Canada in forming the Arctic Council.

“This is our Story.”

Episode 1 dropping on Saturday, December 18th, speaks to the story of how the Permanent Participant organizations were developed and became involved with the Arctic Council.

 Listen here.

Credits 

Published and produced by: On The Land Media – a multimedia organism created to center Indigenous voices and our relationships to the land and water.

In Collaboration with: The Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat, Arctic Athabaskan Council, Aleut International Association, Gwich’in Council International, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Saami Council, the Permanent Participant Youth Network.

Sponsored by:  The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Cover art by: Halux Markings by Dustin Newman, Aleut International Association Youth Representative.

Theme Music: Maani Nunamteni by Uqill’aq Byron Nicholai 

This project was undertaken as an approved project of the Permanent Participant Youth Network. The podcast and written content was prepared by the project team and do not necessarily reflect the policy or positions of any Arctic State, Permanent Participant, or Observer of the Arctic Council.