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Emblematic but not necessarily systematic today

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Inuit innovations of the ancient past

The Inuit are an indigenous Arctic people who speak the languages of the Eskaleutian family and who reside in four countries surrounding the North Pole: Greenland, Canada, the United States, and Russia.

Though most Inuit have fully modernized, their ancestors are responsible for many innovations we take for granted today.

Traditional cold-weather Inuit clothing

One of the most longstanding pieces of Inuit clothing is the parka, which enabled past Inuit populations to survive in some of the coldest environments on Earth. In addition to keeping the wearer warm, the Inuit parka also has thread patterns that communicate information about who the Inuit are.

Inuit pants, mittens, and footwear were made from caribou or sealskin that had numerous layers depending on the season.

The Inuit origins of the paleo diet

Some Inuit still have a diet consisting of fish and some land animals, with very little fruit or vegetables. In particular, reindeer, musk ox, Arctic hare, walrus, polar bear, seal, whale, ptarmigan, geese, ducks, and other birds are the typical diet of Inuit.

Inuit igloos and related matters

Igloos were used as a temporary shelter on extended winter hunting trips, not as a permanent Inuit home.

Where the blocks don't meet, snow was packed in to provide insulation, and a hole was cut at the top for ventilation. For studier construction, Inuit took the snow blocks from snowbanks that had formed in a snowstorm rather than from snowbanks that had accumulated over many snows, as those blocks were more fragile.

Inuit turf huts and summer tents

Turf huts, or Earth huts, were a common form of Inuit dwelling. They were robust and insulated enough to live in permanently.

A typical Inuit hut was low, with walls made of large stones and a roof supported by beams of driftwood. The dwellings were always located near the sea so that the Inuit could easily get to their kayaks when hunting for seals.

During the summer months, Inuit families left the turf huts and gathered berries, hunted reindeer, and caught fish, enabling them to stockpile enough provisions to carry them through the cold and dark winter months.

To avoid sleeping in the open, Inuit traveled with tents made of sealskin that were easy to carry and could be set up anywhere food was found. The tents were supported by a wooden frame made out of driftwood, with an outer sealskin cover.

The Inuit hunter's kayak

Another key part of Inuit life was the kayak, which means "hunters boat."

In addition to its use for hunting, the Inuit kayak also served as a means of transportation. It was propelled by a double-bladed paddle and was usually made of driftwood or whalebone to ensure a light frame.

Inuit kayaks weretypically covered with stretched skins made watertight with whale fat and camouflaged with a white cloth draped over the front.

Sledging across the ice Inuit style

One of the most traditional ways for the Inuit to travel across the frozen ice of the Arctic is via the sledge, or qamutik, pulled by Qimmig - the Inuit name for dog.

The traditional Inuit sledge is composed of two wooden runners on which a platform is built. The bottom of the sledge is as smooth as possible to enable it to glide across the ice.

The sledges have cargo beds that are generally constructed in a basket-like style and are elevated above the runners by around 5-6 inches. At the front of the sledge is the brushbow, a piece of wood shaped as a crescent, to clear the way.

The sledge is made of wood as well as reindeer hide and even frozen salmon skin in areas where wood was not available. To steer the sledge the driver simply has handlebars that the sledder can hold on and learn into when turning the sledge.

Pack dogs and Inuit sledges

Huskies have been used to pull Inuit sledges since around 800 A.D. Prior to that, the Inuit used these dogs as hunting partners. They also acted as guard dogs, alerting the Inuit to approaching polar bears.

Huskies weren't bred to be racing dogs, but are powerful creatures able to pull up to twice their body weight.

To ensure the dogs are obedient, Inuit utilize a male "boss dog" to lead each pack. There may be two boss dogs that can work cooperatively. The boss dog is the owner's most valuable asset, as he can rule the pack for many years with minimal bloodshed.

The boss dog prevents or stops fights among lower-ranking dogs and is usually the one that breeds with the females.

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The Inuit are an indigenous Arctic people who speak the languages of the Eskaleutian family and who reside in four countries surrounding the North Pole: Greenland, Canada, the United States, and Russia. Though most Inuit have fully modernized, their ancestors are responsible for many innovations we take for granted today.

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Just because I think it's beautiful...

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Learn about art, throat singing, watch pictures...

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History, politics, arts, science & more: the Canadian Encyclopedia is your reference on Canada. Articles, timelines & resources for teachers, students & public.

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Inuit languages map

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You can also learn about Inuit mythology and see a lot of pictures in further links

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Traditional Inuit way of life was influenced by the harsh climate and stark landscapes of the Arctic tundra – from beliefs inspired by stories of the aurora to practicalities like homes made of snow. Inuit invented tools, gear, and methods to help them survive in this environment. Read on to learn more about traditional Inuit ways of life, and how Inuit culture has been changed over the past century.

Geography
Inuit communities are found in the Arctic, in the Northwest Territories, Labrador and Quebec in Canada, above tree line in Alaska (where people are called the Inupiat and Yupik), and in Russia (where people are called the Yupik people). In some areas, Inuit people are called "Eskimos" however many Inuit find this term offensive. The word "Inuit" means "the people" in the Inuktitut language.

Inuit Homes
In the tundra, where Inuit communities are found, there are not many building materials. No trees grow in the tundra so houses can not be made from wood unless it is transported from elsewhere. However, during a large part of the year, the cold part, there is a lot of snow in the tundra. And it turns out that snow can be a very good construction material. In the winter, Inuit lived in round houses made from blocks of snow called "igloos". In the summer, when the snow melted, Inuit lived in tent-like huts made of animal skins stretched over a frame. Although most Inuit people today live in the same community year-round, and live in homes built of other construction materials that have to be imported, in the past Inuit would migrate between a summer and winter camp which was shared by several families.

Getting Around
To travel from one place to another, Inuit used sleds made of animal bones and skins pulled over the snow and ice by dogs. Strong dogs with thick fur like huskies, bred by Inuit, were used. On the waters of the Arctic Ocean, small boats called "kayaks" were used for hunting while larger boats called "umiaq" transported people, dogs, and supplies.

Finding Food
Because Inuit live in places where most plants cannot grow, the traditional diet consisted of almost entirely meat. Inuit fished and hunted to get their food. Whales, walruses, seals, fish were staples of their diet.

Clothing for Staying Warm
Traditional Inuit clothing was made from animal skins and fur. Boots were also made from animal skins. Large, thick coats with big hoods called "parkas" were worn as an outer layer. Today the parka style of coat is worn in other places in the world and it is made of many other materials.

Traditions
Although Inuit life has changed significantly over the past century, many traditions continue. Traditional storytelling, mythology, and dancing remain important parts of the culture. Family and community are very important. The Inuktitut language is still spoken in many areas of the Arctic and is common on radio and in television programming.

Changes to Inuit Life during the 20th Century
Inuit a century ago lived very differently than Inuit today. Before the 1940s, Inuit had minimal contact with Europeans. Europeans passed through on their way to hunt whales or trade furs but very few of them had any interest in settling down on the frozen land of the Arctic. So the Inuit had the place to themselves. They moved between summer and winter camps to always be living where there were animals to hunt. In winter camps they lived in snow shelters called igloos. In summer camps they lived in tents made of animal skins and bones.

But that changed. As World War II ended and the Cold War began, the Arctic became a place where countries that didn't get along were close to each other. The Arctic had always been seen as inaccessible, but the invention of airplanes made it easier for non-Arctic dwellers to get there. Permanent settlements were created in the Arctic around new airbases and radar stations built to watch out for rival nations. Schools and health care centers were built in these permanent settlements. In many places, Inuit children were required to attend schools that emphasized non-native traditions. With better health care, the Inuit population grew larger, too large to sustain itself solely by hunting. Many Inuit from smaller camps moved into permanent settlements because there was access to jobs and food. In many areas Inuit were required to live in towns by the 1960s.

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Traditional Inuit culture was influenced by the harsh climate and stark landscapes of the Arctic tundra. The page provides details about where Inuit lived, their homes, their clothes, how they got around, their food, traditions, and beliefs. Inuit life styles have changed dramatically over the past century.

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Who are the Inuit ?

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Terminology

Inuit - Inuktitut for "the people" - are an Indigenous people, the majority of whom inhabit the northern regions of Canada. An Inuit person is known as an Inuk. ( See also Arctic Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

Territory and Demography

The Inuit homeland is known as Inuit Nunangat, which refers to the land, water and ice contained in the Arctic region. The term Inuit Nunangat may also be used to refer to land occupied by the Inuit in Alaska and Greenland. By 2021, according to Statistics Canada, the Inuit population grew to 70,545, an increase of 8.5 per cent since 2016.

In 2021, approximately 69 per cent of all Inuit in Canada lived in Inuit Nunangat, with 44 per cent living in Nunavut, followed by Nunavik (in northern Québec), the western arctic ( Northwest Territories and Yukon), known as Inuvialuit, and Nunatsiavut (located along the northern coast of Labrador).

Language and Ethnic Groups

There are eight main Inuit ethnic groups: the Labradormiut (Labrador), Nunavimmiut (Ungava), Baffin Island, Iglulingmuit (Iglulik), Kivallirmiut (Caribou), Netsilingmiut (Netsilik), Inuinnait (Copper) and Inuvialuit or Western Arctic Inuit (who replaced the Mackenzie Inuit).

Inuktitut, the Inuit language, has five main dialects in Canada: Inuvialuktun (Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories); Inuinnaqtun (western Nunavut); Inuktitut (eastern Nunavut dialect); Inuktitut (Nunavik dialect); and Nunatsiavumiuttut (Nunatsiavut). ( See also Indigenous Languages in Canada.)

In 2016, 41,650 Inuit reported having conversational knowledge of an Inuit language or dialect. In Inuit Nunangat as a whole, 83.9 per cent of Inuit reported conversational ability in an Inuit language. Inuktitut usage was strongest in Nunavik, where the ability to converse in that language was 99.2 per cent. In Nunavut, 89.1 per cent reported the ability to converse in an Inuit language. In contrast, the figures for speaking an Inuit language (mainly Inuvialuktun and Inuinnaqtun) were 21.4 per cent in Nunatsiavut and 22 per cent in the Inuvialuit region.

Declining usage of Inuktitut prompted the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) - the national voice of Inuit in Inuit Nunangat, founded in 1971 - to establish Inuktitut curriculum in schools. Beginning in the 1960s, federal and territorial governments also worked to establish Inuktitut language programs, though for some, justification was partly based on the assumption that establishing such educational traditions would facilitate transition to English or French.

Culture and Life

Traditionally, the Inuit were hunters and gatherers who moved seasonally from one camp to another. Large regional groupings were loosely separated into smaller seasonal groups, winter camps (called "bands") of around 100 people and summer hunting groups of fewer than a dozen. Each band was roughly identified with a locale and named accordingly - the Arvirtuurmiut of Boothia Peninsula were called "baleen whale-eating people." ( See also Igloo and Inuksuk.)

In contemporary northern communities, many types of food such as fruit, vegetables, and milk must be transported long distances, resulting in higher costs, limited availability and food that is not fresh. However, the availability of " country food"through harvesting and sharing partially explains the high percentage of Inuit who consume country food. A report released in 2005 found that a majority (68 per cent) of Inuk adults living in Inuit Nunangat harvested country food, which includes seal, whale, duck, caribou, fish and berries. Country food remains an important food source for many Inuit, with 65 per cent of households getting at least half their meat and fish from country food, and approximately 80 per cent of Inuit Nunangat families sharing country food with people in other households. ( See also Food Insecurity in Canada.)

The Inuit have a rich and diverse culture. Inuit art, from carving to printmaking and more, demonstrates highly-skilled craftsmanship and artistry. Some well-known Inuit artists include Kenojuak Ashevak, Shuvinai Ashoona and Annie Pootoogook. Another popular cultural activity is Inuit vocal games, also known as throat singing. This is usually performed by two women producing a wide range of sounds from deep in the throat and chest. Many Inuit also compete in traditional games and sports such as high-kick (one and two foot varieties) and kneel-jump. Such games are featured in the Arctic Winter Games, held every two years.

History

During roughly 4,000 years of human history in the Arctic, the appearance of new people has brought continual cultural change. The ancestors of the present-day Inuit, who are culturally related to Inupiat (northern Alaska), Katladlit (Greenland) and Yuit (Siberia and western Alaska), arrived about 1050 CE.

As early as the 11th century the Norse exerted an undetermined influence on the Inuit. The subsequent arrival of explorers, whalers, traders, missionaries, scientists and others began irreversible cultural changes. The Inuit themselves participated actively in these developments as guides, traders and models of survival. ( See also Eenoolooapik and Tookoolito.)

The effects of colonization have seriously impacted Inuit culture and life. Though largely ignored by the Canadian federal government until 1939, when a court decision ruled that they were a federal responsibility (though still not subject to the Indian Act) the Inuit were still subjected to policies that enforced assimilation into a "Canadian" way of life. Many Inuit children attended residential schools in Canada. ( See also Inuit Experiences at Residential School.) Formerly nomadic peoples were transformed, sometimes through forced relocation ( see also Inuit High Arctic Relocations in Canada), into sedentary communities, and disc numbers were introduced to supersede an Inuit naming system that did not correspond to administrative needs. Disc numbers - so-called because they were distributed on small leather or pressed-fibre discs initially meant to be worn on one's person - imposed a government sanctioned name on Inuit who may have been known by several names throughout their lives and depending on context. The system used location-based serial numbers. For example, filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk's disc number is E51613. The imposition of disc numbers remains a culturally traumatic event, and has been criticized as fostering structural inequality. ( See also Project Surname.)

Despite adjustments made by the Inuit over the past three centuries and the loss of some traditional features, Inuit culture persists - often with a greater reflective awareness. Inuit maintain a cultural identity through language, family and cultural laws, attitudes and behaviour, and through much acclaimed Inuit art.

Moving Toward Self-Government

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Inuit began organizing politically in response to assimilative policies and government restrictions on traditional lands. In order to lobby effectively for land claims, Indigenous rights and self-government, a group of Inuit people formed Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami or ITK (then known as Inuit Tapirisat of Canada) in 1971. The organization supports and advocates for the interests of all Inuit living in 53 communities across Inuit Nunangat. Such interests represent an array of interconnected issues and challenges, including social, cultural, political, and environmental concerns.

First proposed by ITK in 1976, and supported by plebiscite in 1982, the Nunavut territory was agreed to in principle in a land claim in 1990, and formalized with the Nunavut Act in 1993. A strong base of politically experienced leaders allowed for a relatively smooth transition to official territory status in 1999. Three other land claim agreements in Inuit Nunangat support some level of Inuit self-government. The Makivik Corporation, through the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, is working toward a self-governing Nunavik, as is the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation for Inuvialuit. Nunatsiavut has been self-governed since 1 December 2005 after the implementation of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement and the Labrador Inuit Constitution.

Did You Know?
On 27 January 2020, Inuit elder Qapik Attagutsiak was recognized by Parks Canada as a "Hometown Hero" for her "significant" contributions to Canada's Second World War effort. Qapik was part of a nationwide effort to recycle bones, fats, metals and rubber for wartime production. Living on an island near Igloolik, west of Baffin Island ( Nunavut), Qapik collected walrus and seal bones which were used to make aircraft glue, fertilizer, and cordite (a type of explosive used in bullets). Qapik, 99, was honoured by Nunavut Commissioner Nellie Kusugak and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.

Contemporary Challenges

Despite gains made in self-government and other fields like business, teaching, transportation, medicine and broadcasting ( see also Inuit Broadcasting Corporation), many Inuit in northern communities face significant challenges, such as living in some of the most crowded conditions in Canada. Since being moved to permanent settlements in the 1950s and 1960s, Inuit have lacked adequate housing and have suffered related health problems. ( See also Health of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.) In 2016, 51.7 Inuit in Inuit Nunangat reported living in over-crowded conditions, compared to 8.5 per cent of non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. Living conditions and lack of access to healthcare partially contribute to an increase in chronic health conditions, including obesity, diabetes and respiratory infections. ( See also Social Conditions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.) The suicide rate among Inuit youth is markedly higher than for the rest of Canada, making suicide prevention a key priority for continued cultural growth. ( See also Suicide among Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

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Inuit - Inuktitut for "the people" - are an Indigenous people, the majority of whom inhabit the northern regions of Canada. An Inuit person is known a...

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Protecting not-so-wild places helps biodiversity

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Protecting not-so-wild places helps biodiversity

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Learn about indigenous guardians

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Few places on our planet remain untouched by humans.

The growing global demand for food, fibre, fuels, shelter and freshwater is driving the loss and degradation of natural forests, wetlands, coastal areas and other ecosystems. It has had devastating consequences for biodiversity and the life-sustaining services that ecosystems provide, such as clean air, safe drinking water and a stable climate.

The explosive growth of towns and cities and land use changes - forestry, agriculture, mining - destroyed an astonishing 3.3 million square kilometres of terrestrial wilderness (an area larger than India) between 1993 and 2009.

The high seas haven't escaped the breadth and reach of human activity either. Today, industrial fisheries, pollution and marine traffic are threatening more than 87 per cent of the world's oceans.

Studies like these have helped draw attention to the astonishing pace and scale of global habitat loss at a time when policy-makers are expected to increase the coverage of protected areas.

We are fast approaching the 2020 deadline for achieving the United Nations' Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including Target 11. That initiative obligates countries to protect 17 per cent of terrestrial areas and inland water, and 10 per cent of marine and coastal areas.

A mid-term analysis of progress on the Aichi Targets, published in 2014, showed that most countries would likely fail to meet their own goals. But there is a promising way forward where countries can protect biodiversity and recognize Indigenous peoples as conservation partners.

Humanized geographies

At the global scale, the number of terrestrial and marine protected areas have expanded since 2011. As of July 2018, there were 238,563 designated protected areas recorded in the World Database on Protected Areas. These areas collectively protect more than 20 million square kilometres of land (14.9 per cent of the Earth's land surface) and six million square kilometres of oceans (7.3 per cent).

While the global community is on track to achieve its spatial goals by the 2020 deadline, there are concerns that the focus on quantity of protection instead of the quality of protection is undermining biodiversity conservation.

There is also the danger that in the rush to meet the 2020 deadline, many new protected areas will simply be "paper parks" that remain open to the consumption of biodiversity within them, such as industrial fishing, or suffer from inadequate resources and enforcement.

Faisal Moola, Author provided

The remaining pieces of intact wilderness, such as the Canadian boreal forest, have received considerable attention as targets for conservation. But the conservation community and policy-makers have largely overlooked the need to protect small and isolated patches of wildlife habitat that persist in humanized landscapes (landscapes changed by people).

This includes remnant wetlands located in urbanized areas such as southern Ontario and on the Lower Mainland of British Columbia as well as industrialized zones, like the Peace Region of northeastern British Columbia, that have been severely impacted by logging, oil and gas extraction, mines, dams and other resource development.

Landscapes of regret

Fortunately, there is a way to recognize and support biodiversity conservation in these developed and managed landscapes.

Countries can meet their global targets for terrestrial and marine conservation outside of formally designated parks and protected areas with " other effective area-based conservation measures," or OECMs. These include managed forests, urban greenbelts, military lands and waters and territories managed by Indigenous peoples.

These landscapes have too often been dismissed for conservation as "landscapes of regret," owing to their degree of fragmentation and ecological degradation from human activities, including urbanization, agriculture and resource development.

We believe these areas hold out great hope as "landscapes of opportunity" for conservation. They contain important remnant of habitats for endangered wildlife and offer essential ecosystem services such as flood control, and can reconnect urban populations to nature.

A recent global synthesis of conservation studies shows that even small habitat patches are important for biodiversity and should no longer be neglected for conservation.

In addition, OECMs offer much-needed recognition and support for Indigenous-led conservation efforts, such as tribal parks. Studies show that tribal parks conserve biodiversity and are crucial to maintaining cultural and spiritual identity and connection to the land.

Indigenous guardians

Canada is an emerging leader in exploring the use of OECMs, including tribal parks to meet its international conservation goals. For example, Parks Canada and the Indigenous Circle of Experts have been working together on "Canada Target 1," with the goal of meeting the Aichi target 11. The process involves First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and commits to using both western science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

Read more: Indigenous protected areas are the next generation of conservation

In the 2017 budget, for example, the federal government allocated $25 million over four years to the Indigenous Guardians pilot program. The program supports communities engaged in the stewardship of traditional territories, including ecological restoration activities in areas impacted by forestry, oil and gas development and other industrial land use.

The global biodiversity crisis necessitates conservation action that is both effective and equitable. Recent progress to expand the global coverage of traditional parks and protected areas is encouraging, but we must not lose sight of the critical need for new and innovative forms of conservation governance.

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Protecting not-so-wild places helps biodiversity

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Few places on our planet remain untouched by humans. The growing global demand for food, fibre, fuels, shelter and freshwater is driving the loss and degradation of natural forests, wetlands, coastal areas and other ecosystems. It has had devastating consequences for biodiversity and the life-sustaining services that ecosystems provide, such as clean air, safe drinking water and a stable climate.

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How Arctic biodiversity affects Inuit food culture

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How Arctic biodiversity affects Inuit food culture

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Carolina Behe on how Arctic biodiversity changes affect Inuit food culture

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In this publication, we show the link between environmental change, based on Inuit perspectives and direct observations, and biodiversity, which is the sum of all living beings and things. We summarize the many changes Inuit have reported as impacting biodiversity, such as the appearance of insects formerly not seen, and at the same time examine how local knowledge is crucial to adapting to changes in biodiversity.

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...and dangers

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FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - The foreign ministers of the eight Arctic Council nations will meet to discuss climate change this week, amid news last month that temperatures in the pristine region are warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world.

A high-level meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his counterparts from Russia, Greenland, Canada, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland begins Thursday in Fairbanks.

As Tillerson joins the talks, the Trump administration has not yet decided whether to remain a party to the 2015 U.N. Paris Agreement on responding to climate change.
Watch: Alaskan Natives Look to Arctic Council to Preserve Waters, Way of Life
Any changes to U.S. climate policy would directly affect the lives of Alaska Natives, who depend on the Arctic Sea to survive.

In recent reports, scientists said the temperatures in the Arctic were warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, sea ice was at record lows and permafrost was thawing.

If current warming rates hold, the world could see an ice-free Arctic by 2040, researchers said.
Worrisome
The studies have alarmed Alaska Natives.

Gabe Tegoseak spoke to VOA about growing up in an

Gabe Tegoseak spoke to VOA about growing up in an Inuit household.

Gabe Tegoseak spoke to VOA about growing up in an Inuit household.

"To put that in perspective, I grew up with no running water most of my life," Tegoseak said. "A very old-school tradition, my parents they favored it that way and it humbles me.

"I had to walk to a freshwater lake, break some ice on my sled - and this is a wooden sled I used to pull around and break it up - and then bring it home, and that was our drinking water, this big block of ice," he said.

As the ice block melted, Tegoseak's family first used it for drinking water, then to wash their faces and bodies, and then to clean the floor, not wasting a drop, he said.

Many people in Alaska, including indigenous people, depend on the oil and gas industry for a paycheck, he told VOA. But he said he thought an executive order signed this month by President Donald Trump to reverse Obama administration policy and open up Arctic waters to drilling was shortsighted.

"We're trading our rights and our ability to subsistence hunt and live traditionally, which is over 10,000-plus years old, for a cash economy, which [is a] different mindset. So when we catch a whale, for instance, we share it all," Tegoseak said.

"Our view is that everybody gets to [have] a piece of whale, and it doesn't matter, creed or color. Everybody gets a fair share," he stressed.

Tegoseak said he had asked many Alaska Natives on the North Slope about what they'd do if they had to choose between having their beloved whale meat, called muktuk, or an iPad. They responded that they'd choose muktuk, he said.

Wiseman, Alaska, is located north of the Arctic Ci

Wiseman, Alaska, is located north of the Arctic Circle, May 10, 2017. The eight-member Arctic Council meets in Fairbanks, Alaska, beginning Thursday, and climate change is high on the agenda for the foreign ministers attending.
Seen as shortsighted
Many environmental experts agree that drilling in the Arctic is risky and shortsighted, including Sally Yozell of the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan research center in Washington.

"I think it's rather shortsighted for a number of reasons. You know the Arctic waters are cold, and it's hard to - we have not figured out yet how to address an oil or gas calamity up there at all. I mean, the cold water, all one has to do to is to have witnessed what happened with the Exxon Valdez many years ago to see that that oil stayed in those waters for 20 years," Yozell said.

The Valdez tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. Nearly 11 million gallons of oil was spilled.

Experts said the accelerated melting of Arctic Sea ice will most likely lead to more shipping, drilling and other economic activity in the region.

A view of the Braided River in Denali National Par

A view of the Braided River in Denali National Park in Alaska, May 10, 2017. The eight-member Arctic Council meets in Fairbanks beginning Thursday, and climate change is high on the agenda for the foreign ministers attending.

Mark Royce of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship told VOA he was concerned.

"Unfortunately, the retreating ice, the diminution of the perpetual winters there, and the warming of their environment is giving rise to still more steam for plans for rapacious exploration and exploitative development," Royce said. "It's a vicious cycle. But what we're seeing in the Arctic, in the very seas around Alaska, presents just a particularly virulent form of this at a crucial time."

Tillerson's remarks will most likely be followed closely by the other seven Arctic Council partners, who want to make climate change a focus of the final statement when the meeting concludes Thursday.

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Alaska Natives Look to Arctic Council to Preserve Pristine Region, Way of Life

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The foreign ministers of the eight Arctic Council nations will meet to discuss climate change this week, amid news last month that temperatures in the pristine region are warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world.A high-level meeting with U.S.