Alaska Residents are Watching Climate Change Warm the Arctic Before Their Very Eyes

Walter Peter, a Gwich'in hunter from Fort Yukon, Alaska, stood in front of the audience under an outdoor octagon of raw logs and listed the changes he'd seen: unreliable river ice, unpredictable salmon runs, altered goose migrations, tick-infested moose, diseased caribou. He spoke in a quiet, respectful voice and was respected in return. He didn't crack a smile until he noted "there’s nothing better than fat moose kidneys and blueberry pancakes." But he shook his head at the thought of all that is being lost.

In response to a rapidly warming Arctic, hunters and Alaskans gathered in June for the first Arctic Indigenous Climate Summit. Organized by Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, the summit was held to call attention to the impact of climate changes but also to highlight the crucial relationships here between communities and ecosystems. The event's ambition was modest but profound....