New Co-Chair at Gwich'in Council International
[YELLOWKNIFE, CANADA August 19 2024] Gwich’in Council International (GCI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kris Statnyk as Co-Chair (Canada), and re-appointment of Edward Alexander as Co-Chair (USA). We offer gratitude to Sharla Greenland, who served as the previous Canadian Co-Chair and will remain on the Board.
2024 Aug 19 New Co-Chair at Gwich'in Council International.pdf
Gwich'in Council International responds to the joint statement on limited resumption of Arctic Council cooperation
[YELLOWKNIFE, CANADA June 9, 2022] Gwich'in Council International responds to the joint statement on limited resumption of Arctic Council cooperation.
2022 June 9 GCI Statement re limited resumption of AC cooperation 2.pdf
Gwich'in Council International responds to the joint statement on Arctic Council cooperation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine
[YELLOWKNIFE, CANADA March 3, 2022] Gwich'in Council International responds to the joint statement on Arctic Council cooperation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
2022 March 3 GCI Statement.pdf
New Co-Chair, Director at Gwich'in Council International
[YELLOWKNIFE, CANADA January 14, 2022] Gwich’in Council International (GCI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Sharla Greenland as the Canadian Co-Chair. We offer sincere thanks to Erin Linklater, who served as the previous Co-Chair and will remain on the Board. We also welcome new Board member David Smith Junior.
2022 Jan 14 GCI announces Board changes.pdf
Condolences, Grief on the Passing of Kristine McLeod
[YELLOWKNIFE, CANADA August 10, 2021] Gwich’in Council International (GCI) offers our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Gwich’in Tribal Council (GTC) Deputy Grand Chief Kristine McLeod. It was with profound sadness that we received news of her passing, and we extend our sympathy and prayers to all who are hurting and grieving her loss. She will be deeply missed.
Read full statement: 2021 GCI Condolences on passing of Kristine McLeod.pdf
New Co-Chair, Director at Gwich'in Council International
[YELLOWKNIFE, CANADA July 30, 2020] Gwich’in Council International (GCI) is pleased to announce the appointments of Erin Linklater and Kibbe Tetlichi, members of Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, to GCI’s Board of Directors. We thank Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm for his service to Gwich’in Council International as he steps down as Co-Chair and Ms. Linklater becomes the new Co-Chair.
2020 July 30 GCI Board changes.pdf
How Indigenous-led environmental assessments could ease resource, pipeline gridlock
The Narhwal - September 4, 2018
Available online at: https://thenarwhal.ca/how-indigenous-led-environmental-assessments-could-ease-resource-pipeline-gridlock/.
QUOTE:
The Gwich’in of the Northwest Territories and Yukon are a prime example of this lack of engagement.
“There was a lot of oil and gas development and we really didn’t have a say in what was happening,” said Jordan Peterson, deputy Grand Chief of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, which commissioned the report from the Firelight Group.
“We haven’t always been fully consulted or engaged or involved in these processes.”
The Gwich’in Tribal Council is particularly concerned about the Porcupine caribou herd, a vital cultural and economic resource that, like all caribou, is sensitive to the kind of habitat fragmentation and disturbance oil and gas development can create on the landscape.
Energy Trade Show Talks Wind Power
Inuvik Drum - June 14, 2018
QUOTE: "Grant Sullivan, Executive Director of Gwich'inCouncil International spoke about how energy needs are similar across the Circumpolar region. 'A lot of the solutions we need to be looking for are Circumpolar. It's not north-south. We need to be drawing on the Circumpolar north.' said Sullivan. 'We are all facing the same issue: how do we do this?' He said communities and stakeholders in the Arctic need to pull together to find solutions for collective problems".
Opening new doors for the field of Indigenous-Led Impact Assessment
For Immediate Release: April 24, 2018
Gwich’in Council International (GCI) is releasing a report on Indigenous-led Impact Assessment today in Yellowknife, entitled Impact Assessment in the Arctic: Emerging Practices of Indigenous-led Review. The report is leading the way in identifying the strategic approaches Indigenous governments are taking as they lead their own major project assessments. By doing this, Indigenous governments are breaking ground, ensuring culture, language and way of life are central to the review of projects, and asserting their rights and responsibilities for environmental stewardship and land and resource decision-making in innovative and concrete ways.
“As partners in co-management we are upholding our inherent rights and responsibilities to take care of our people and our way of life. This study shows that there are many options and tools now being developed that Indigenous nations can use to assess and make binding decisions on major projects”, said Jordan Peterson, Deputy Grand Chief of the Gwich’in Tribal Council and Board member of the GCI.
The report, put together by The Firelight Group, is based in case studies from across Canada, is being released to participants from the eight member nations of the Arctic Council who are in Yellowknife this week for a Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) of the Arctic Council Workshop on “Best Practices in Arctic Environmental Impact Assessment”. It will inform their project that aims to identify best practice in environmental assessment. “This Workshop provides us with the opportunity to learn from Indigenous peoples from across the circumpolar world and share with them the best practices that are emerging from Canada”, Sarah Cox, Canadian Head of Delegation for the SDWG, explains.
GCI represents 9,000 Gwich’in in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Yukon, and Alaska as a Permanent Participant in the Arctic Council, the only international organization where there is a seat for Indigenous peoples at the decision-making table alongside national governments. GCI supports Gwich’in by amplifying our voice on sustainable development and the environment at the international level to support resilient and healthy communities. To review the report https://gwichincouncil.com/media.
For further information contact Sara French at 416-316-1129 or gciadmin@gwichin.nt.ca.
Download the Full Study:
Firelight Gwich'in Indigenous led review_FINAL_web.pdf