Reginald Joule is the former Mayor for the Northwest Arctic Borough

For the Inuit in Alaska climate change is a mixed bag of opportunities and challenges. At a high level yet rooted in customs and traditions the issue of food security for residents is ever present. Will the migration patterns change? Will the numbers of sport hunters interfere with the harvests? Will our State or Federal government finally grant preference to aboriginal peoples for hunting and fishing? What to do if there is a shortage of the resource and how to feed family if there is no work?

As the world around us changes science and research will continue to have a great interest. Our peoples have had a deep knowledge and understanding of this land and waters passed on for countless generations. Our knowledge here in Alaska has been good for the environment and it has been good for economic development. The development of oil on the North Slope of Alaska is a good example of that when the industry has chosen to work with our holders of knowledge. The Red Dog Mine near Kotzebue is another good example of utilizing traditional knowledge. We are not the voice of an Industry nor are we the voice of the environmental community, we are the ones who live here and will continue to do so. We have our own voice. The challenge for us as indigenous peoples is to be included with a meaningful seat at the table with those making these decisions at local, regional and national levels.

The challenge for us as indigenous peoples is to be included with a meaningful seat at the table with those making these decisions at local, regional and national levels.

One of the realities of climate change is longer periods of the oceans being ice free. This has put communities in a position of having to face relocation. The villages of Kivalina, Shishmaref, and Newtok have needed to be moved to protect the people living there. Yet, the lack of identifying funding to do so has not been forth coming. That’s not to say that governments both state and federal, haven’t been helping because they have, however our smaller communities do not have the capacities to fund such moves. Until recently the lack of high level government involvement has been lacking. The recent visits by U.S. Interior Secretary Jewell, and President Obama have greatly boosted the visibility of the situation that these communities are faced with. Part of the problem is that our populations are small and the costs of relocation are very high, so cost benefit analysis also work against us.

There are other results of ice free time including increased marine traffic into Arctic waters. The challenges are the lack of marine infrastructure along the western and arctic coastline of Alaska. There isn’t currently the means to address or respond to marine emergencies for clean up or search and rescue in most rural locations. The opportunities are the same as the challenges, building of such infrastructure in key locations.

While we in the Arctic world are few in number the challenges we face are no less important than other places in this world. The events related to climate change happening in the Arctic will have impact on the world, and the global decision makes need to understand this and seek meaningful involvement from those who will be impacted. It needs to be more than just an advisory group.

We will be in Paris to raise our collective voice through the support of the government of Norway and in partnership with the UN Development Programme and the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC).