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Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland, 2019. Then Foreign Minister of Norway, Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, greets Chief Gary Harrison from the Arctic Athabaskan Council
Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland, 2019. Then Foreign Minister of Norway, Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, greets Chief Gary Harrison from the Arctic Athabaskan Council
© Jouni Porsanger / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

The Importance of the Arctic Council for Indigenous Peoples

May 12, 2025
Народы АрктикиАлеутская международная ассоциацияАрктический совет атабасковМеждународный совет гвичиновИнуитский приполярный советАссоциация коренных малочисленных народов Севера, Сибири и Дальнего Востока Российской ФедерацииСоюз СаамовРабочая группа по сохранению арктической флоры и фауныРабочая группа по предупреждению, готовности и ликвидации чрезвычайных ситуаций
How the Council’s Permanent Participants bring their perspectives and knowledge to the table

Article by:
Saami Council

The category of Permanent Participants is a unique model of including Indigenous Peoples in decision-making. It was created to provide Arctic Indigenous Peoples with the means of active participation and full consultation in the Council’s deliberations. The Arctic Council is the only international body that has accredited Indigenous Peoples this status. In this article Permanent Participants reflect on the importance of the Council for them – and vice versa.

In general, the engagement by Arctic Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic Council is guided by the understanding that healthy and productive ecosystems, both on land and in marine environments, are fundamental to the cultures, identities, and livelihoods of Arctic Indigenous Peoples. These cultures rely on local food sources and traditional materials to maintain health, safety, and well-being. Indigenous Knowledge has been generated and passed down for generations, ensuring a balanced relationship with the surroundings and the environment. However, climate change, pollution, land use changes, and encroachments are altering natural landscapes and threatening Indigenous ways of life. The Arctic Council is important, as our homelands and matters related to these lands and waters are on the Arctic Council agenda. The Permanent Participants are at the Arctic Council table to address the challenges the Arctic Indigenous Peoples are facing and amplify the voices of Arctic Indigenous Peoples.

Since the first gathering of Arctic Indigenous Peoples in Copenhagen in 1973, cooperation among Indigenous Peoples across the circumpolar region has evolved significantly. From early efforts to unify Indigenous Peoples’ voices in addressing shared concerns to achieving formal recognition in international cooperation, the journey has been marked by both challenges and accomplishments. At the heart of this progress is the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum that has provided Arctic Indigenous Peoples with a seat at the table to shape policies affecting their lands, cultures, and ways of life.

The first Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ meeting in 1973 laid the foundation for organized cooperation among Indigenous Peoples across national borders. The participants envisioned a collective body to advocate for their rights and interests. Their declaration emphasized the need to protect their lands, resources, and cultural heritage for future generations.

First gathering of Arctic Indigenous Peoples in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1973
© Jens Brøsted

Indigenous Peoples’ leaders at the time understood that environmental protection and Indigenous self-determination were inseparable. This realization would later shape the direction of Arctic cooperation, culminating in Indigenous Peoples’ participation in environmental and geopolitical discussions on the global stage.

The Arctic Council, established in 1996, built on the foundation of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy and emerged as the most significant institutional recognition of Indigenous Peoples voices in Arctic governance. Unlike other intergovernmental organizations, the Arctic Council includes Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations as Permanent Participants, granting them a stronger role than Observer States and institutions. This unique structure allows Indigenous Peoples representatives to influence policy recommendations directly, even if they do not hold formal voting rights.

At its inception, the Arctic Council included three Permanent Participants: the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), the Saami Council, and the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON). Soon after, the Aleut International Association (AIA), the Gwich’in Council International (GCI), and the Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC) also joined, ensuring broader representation of Indigenous Peoples across the Arctic region. If we hold hands, we cover the whole Arctic Circle.

Ministerial meeting of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy with the Indigenous Peoples’ representatives who would become the first Permanent Participants in the Arctic Council, Alta, 1997
© Harald Finkler / Arctic Council

The Arctic Council has become an essential forum for Indigenous Peoples advocacy, allowing Indigenous knowledge to be utilized in scientific research, environmental protection efforts, and sustainable development initiatives. As one Indigenous leader put it, the presence of Permanent Participants ensures that the Arctic Council is not solely focused on environmental concerns like polar bears but also on the people who live and thrive in the Arctic.

During its Chairship of the Arctic Council from 2023 to 2025, Norway has made efforts to restart Arctic cooperation following a pause in official meetings of the Arctic Council initiated by seven Arctic States in February 2022. By focusing on non-political but critical issues such as wildfires, Norway has managed to keep the Council functioning. Additionally, Norway has maintained dialogue with the Indigenous Peoples Organisations, ensuring that all six Permanent Participants remain engaged in discussions about the Council’s future.

Meeting between the Permanent Participants and the Norwegian Chairship in Bodø, Norway, in May 2024
© Minetta Westerlund / Arctic Council Secretariat

As Indigenous Peoples continue to navigate the challenges posed by climate change, resource development, and geopolitical tensions, their voices must remain at the centre of Arctic governance. The evolution of Indigenous cooperation in the Arctic, from the 1973 meeting in Copenhagen to their status as Permanent Participants in the Arctic Council, highlights the resilience and determination of leaders of Indigenous Peoples. The Arctic Council has provided a foundation for this engagement and remains a crucial platform for advocating for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, environmental protection, and sustainable development, but further steps are necessary to solidify their role. By strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ representation, the Arctic Council can continue to serve as a model for inclusive and effective governance in the Arctic and beyond.


© Chief Bill Erasmus

Chief Bill Erasmus, Arctic Athabaskan Council: “We participate at all levels of the Arctic Council. We're involved in all of the Working Groups and are involved in all of the discussions. The Council’s political proceedings are designed by consensus, which makes sure that it includes all of our views. It's important for Indigenous Peoples to participate in the Arctic Council because the circumpolar world is our homeland. It's where we come from, it's where we've always lived and this is where we will always be. We have to be involved in everything that happens in our territory.”


© Liza Mack

Liza Mack, Aleut International Association: “First of all, it's important for Indigenous Peoples to be involved with the Arctic Council because Indigenous Peoples have been in the Arctic since time immemorial. It's not a barren space. Secondly, the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic Council is very important because it gives the Arctic Council an illustration of how the policies and the decisions affect our communities and our culture and our Peoples. By being part of political proceedings, Permanent Participants are involved in all of the decisions that affect us as Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic. The decisions that are made at the policy level give us the ability to hunt and fish. It gives us the ability to remain on the landscape and to continue our culture.”


© Edward Alexander

Edward Alexander, Gwich’in Council International: “It's important for the Arctic Council that Indigenous Peoples are involved for one, for the unique knowledge that’s brought forward by all of the different Indigenous Peoples. Thousands to tens of thousands of years of history in different areas around the Arctic; that base of knowledge is very important to inform projects. And in that sense, our knowledge is very important to include in projects, but also for credibility because we are the people of the Arctic. These issues affect us. It's important for Indigenous Peoples to participate in the Arctic Council because we're the people of the North. We’ve seen and we know the changes in the Arctic. We know the stories of the North, how rapidly the Arctic is changing from climate change, all the rest of it. It's impacting us as peoples. And so we need to make sure that our peoples have a voice in all the discussions regarding the Arctic.”


© Sara Olsvig

Sara Olsvig, Inuit Circumpolar Council: “The Arctic Council cannot make any decisions about the Arctic without Indigenous Peoples, and that's what Indigenous Peoples have been saying for decades and decades, that nothing about us should be done without us. The Arctic Council, co-founded by Indigenous Peoples, is gaining a lot of legitimacy through having Indigenous Peoples at the table and having that unique structure of including Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations as Permanent Participants, by Indigenous Peoples being at the table and being part of the decision making. That there's nothing in the Arctic that can go on without the participation of Indigenous Peoples gives the Arctic Council legitimacy. If we are to uphold the promises of Arctic States to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, this participation in decision-making is key. So, the Arctic Council is a good example of how states can work fully inclusively with Indigenous Peoples in decision making and in work related to our own homelands and seas.”


© Vladimir Klimov

Vladimir Klimov, RAIPON: “Probably only thanks to the Permanent Participants, the Arctic Council became a forum where states and Indigenous Peoples sit at the same table and think of how to improve living and working conditions in the Arctic. Permanent Participants are very important to the Arctic Council. It’s us who bring in traditional knowledge. We have always lived in these territories, and we are the first to observe changes happening in the Arctic. Today, we, the Permanent Participants, work within almost all of the Working Groups, And our participation in the Working Groups’ activities is impossible to replace. Subsidiary bodies such as SDWG, the Sustainable Development Working Group, in my mind, were created to encourage projects that are jointly implemented by Permanent Participants and Arctic States.”


© Christina Henriksen

Christina Henriksen, Saami Council: “It’s important for the Arctic Council to have the Indigenous Peoples involved for credibility, because if you want to develop and make progress in the region, you need to make sure that the people who actually live in and for the region are on board. I think that the perspectives brought to the table from the Indigenous Peoples as Permanent Participants are very valuable also for the Arctic Council officials and delegations, who often come from the outside. So, if we’re seeking to develop a thriving Arctic for those who live there already, I think that Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives are crucial.”


© Inge Thaulow

Inge Thaulow, Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF): “The unique approach of the Arctic Council is also very important to me, that States and Permanent Participants sit at the same table to shape the work and outcomes of the Council. This is very distinctive, and globally unmatched. I’m pleased to say that the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group of the Arctic Council currently has several projects, which are led or co-authored by Permanent Participants, including on salmon, Arctic wildland fires, climate change, and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM) in the Arctic.”


© Kathy Ngheim

Kathy Nghiem, Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR): “Indigenous and coastal communities are often the first responders to emergencies in their communities and surrounding waters. Their presence and capacity to respond can make an important difference in how an emergency unfolds in remote locations. It’s therefore critically important that Indigenous Peoples are a part of the work at the Emergency Prevention Preparedness and Response Working Group of the Arctic Council. By sharing their experiences and perspectives, it’s helping shape how Arctic States approach emergencies in the Arctic to improve outcomes for those involved in the emergency and mitigate impacts and harms to the communities where they occur.”

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