Voices of Young Alaskans Important as Ever on Arctic Issues
COVID pandemic underscores connections
“I think one of the things that COVID has laid to bare in our rural communities…that you’re seeing more apparently, are the connections between things like food security, mental well-being, and cultural sovereignty.” — Arctic Youth Ambassador Samuel Uuyavuk Schimmel
March 2020 was set to be an eventful one for a group of young bright Alaskans. Those young people — the third and latest cohort of the Arctic Youth Ambassadors (AYA) Program — were packing their bags for Anchorage, where they would be taking part in the AYA Program’s orientation summit. Through a multi-day event at the Anchorage Museum, the new Ambassadors would lay the foundation for the important work they would pursue over the course of the Program, including meeting with Arctic leaders, national policymakers, and others, to discuss the issues affecting them and their communities across Alaska. They would also meet and bond with each other, building a diverse network of friends and allies across Alaska.
As many Ambassadors prepared to board planes to Anchorage from their wide-ranging communities and colleges, staff made a tough call, indefinitely postponing the summit to protect the health and safety of its Ambassadors, their families and friends, and Alaskans. Amidst the nationwide turmoil and uncertainty of transitioning into quarantine, the AYA Program would have to pivot, embracing the benefits of virtual connections rather than in-person ones.
Established in 2015 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with the U.S. Department of State and nonprofit Alaska Geographic, the Arctic Youth Ambassadors Program seeks to bring together diverse youth from across Alaska to serve as Ambassadors for their communities and country in building awareness about life in the Arctic. As the Arctic region faces rapid and unprecedented changes — coastal erosion, shrinking sea ice, and associated impacts on plants and wildlife, to name a few — the vision and voices of youth are vital to addressing these challenges. Since the Program’s founding, its goals — including amplifying the voices of young Alaskans — have inspired other organizations to become active partners in the Program, including the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Alaska Conservation Foundation (ACF).
Throughout the two-year duration of the Program, Ambassadors get to engage with scientists, Tribal leaders, policymakers, and fellow Arctic youth, and bring their perspectives to the public sphere. Past Ambassadors have met with key decisionmakers, such as U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, and with Arctic Council representatives, to share their commitment to solving the challenges facing their communities, cultures, and environment. Ambassadors have also harnessed the power of storytelling — in multiple mediums — to share their experiences and passions with broader audiences. Past Ambassadors have written blogs and articles on cultural preservation and connecting to nature. Some have developed short films to tell their stories about climate change and how it impacts their communities. Others have collaborated on The Arctic We Need project, an audiovisual portrait series where Ambassadors shared their visions for their communities’ future.
The two previous AYA cohorts took part in a broad range of trainings, conferences, and cultural exchanges both within the U.S. and abroad. In 2018, members of the second cohort traveled to Finland to represent the U.S. in the Arctic Youth Summit — a week-long conference led by CAFF (the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna working group of the Arctic Council) and WWF — to promote youth engagement in Arctic science, research, and conservation. Shortly after, in 2019, Ambassadors were invited to the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Norway, where they participated in several panels and workshops geared toward knowledge-based and sustainable development in the Arctic.
The sudden limitations imposed by COVID-19 took those types of in-person opportunities off the table in 2020. For this third cohort of Ambassadors, the Program would have to adapt its model to a mostly remote one. Because the Program relies so much on youth engagement, relationship-building, and fostering a sense of community, adjusting to a virtual space has had its challenges. However, the core purpose of the AYA Program — to amplify youth voices and raise awareness on Arctic issues — remains as important as ever. In many ways, the pandemic has only exacerbated issues faced by the region and makes elevation of these unique youth voices that much more critical.
“I think one of the things that COVID has laid to bare in our rural communities…that you’re seeing more apparently, are the connections between things like food security, mental well-being, and cultural sovereignty,” says one of the current Ambassadors, Samuel Uuyavuk Schimmel, St. Lawrence Island Siberian Yupik and Kenaitze Indian. Having spent much of his childhood hunting and fishing on the Bering Sea, Schimmel has witnessed noticeable changes in climate patterns that affect his community’s subsistence practices and cultural traditions:
“I remember going out as a little boy on these great big ice sheets…and I remember thinking about the strength of the ocean, and of the ice. I was struck by the fact that the ice always came back…it seemed like such a constant as a little kid, the fact that ice would always be there when it was time to hunt. But as times have gone on, that ice that was so ever present, and so powerful, has gone away. It has changed.”
Sam, who is currently finishing up his third year at Stanford University, is no stranger to speaking up for his community and the Arctic. During the past few years, he has joined Alaska’s Climate Action Leadership Team, served as a youth representative for the Alaska Federation of Natives conference, and worked with Alaskan leaders, such as Senator Murkowski and Governor Bill Walker, on behalf of Alaska Native youth. In spring of 2021, Sam played a central role in carrying out “Operation Fish Drop,” a community project to deliver sockeye salmon to hundreds of Alaska Native families, Elders, and individuals, whose traditional subsistence practices were disrupted by the pandemic. To date, the project has successfully distributed over 12,000 pounds of salmon.
For Sam, the AYA Program provides a platform to drive change. “As Arctic Youth Ambassadors, we’re given an opportunity to get the stories and voices of our rural and native communities out into the public,” says Sam. “I think that there’s always an opportunity for more to be done, and for the voices of these communities to be amplified.”
For AYA alumni, the Program has played a pivotal role in opening up career pathways. Jannelle Trowbridge, a member of the 2015–2017 cohort, is one of them. During her time as an Ambassador, Jannelle traveled to Washington, D.C. to engage with Scholars in the Arctic Fulbright Initiative, and met with then Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. Trowbridge recalls how collaborating with experts in science and policy helped her realize her own potential. “Seeing these people working in these different fields, that’s not impossible for me to do. I could do these things and have expertise in these areas. That experience changed my lens in a lot of ways.”
After graduating from the University of Alaska Anchorage, Jannelle accepted a position as a wildlife biologist with the FWS — the AYA Program’s founding partner — on Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. Many young Alaskans, like Jannelle, are deeply committed to the protection and stewardship of Alaska’s lands, waters, and wildlife. Jannelle’s entry into FWS is a testament to how programs like AYA can open new opportunities for young people, creating a pathway for them to bring their passion and values to careers in protection and conservation of the Arctic.
Though hope is on the horizon with COVID-19, the AYA Program — like many other programs — will continue to operate virtually for the foreseeable future. In this virtual environment, the Program is focused on strengthening relationships within the cohort, providing relevant trainings, and supporting the Ambassadors in developing individual and team projects focused on their priorities and interests. At the moment, some Ambassadors are developing projects related to domestic and international policy — including the work of the Arctic Council — that affect their communities and environments; others are using creative storytelling to relay experiences of culture and community in the Arctic.
One of the current Ambassadors, Eve Downing, is using her time in the Program to learn more about the use of, and potential for, renewable energy in Alaska, including how it can be deployed to meet rural Alaska’s energy needs. Eve, who hails from Sterling, Alaska, has a natural affinity for and experience in environmental policy. She’s led canvassing teams, organized community events, and traveled to D.C. to share her perspectives on what’s needed to protect Alaska’s lands and resources. For Eve, positive change requires honest dialogue:
“My passion is to help create a just transition into a more equitable and greener world that is responsible for the health of everyone. I believe a step in the right direction is creating open conversations about the issues that we can see going on throughout our state, because I believe that a lot of understanding can be created with conversations that are started with genuine intentions, and not to prove a point.”
On May 17-18 of 2021, some members of the third cohort will be participating in an international youth symposium being hosted by the Wilson Center and co-sponsored by the AYA Program. This online symposium — The Arctic in 25 Years: First Annual International Youth Symposium — will gather emerging leaders from across the eight Arctic countries to discuss and influence the next generation of Arctic policy, thereby putting youth — a critical voice in the Arctic’s future — in the driver’s seat.
Looking forward, many Ambassadors are enthusiastic about the potential for future virtual meetings — made possible by the AYA Program’s network — with officials from the U.S. Department of State, Department of the Interior, WWF, and more. Nearly four months in, the Biden Administration has identified a core set of priorities — including equity and tackling the climate crisis — that have a palpable effect on Alaska and the young Alaskans who will be our future leaders. The President has assembled a diverse Cabinet committed to addressing these priorities, including former Secretary of State John Kerry as the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. Secretary Kerry shares a history with the AYA Program, having met with the first cohort in 2015 at the Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation. Engagement, and Resilience (GLACIER conference) held in Anchorage, Alaska. Other key players like Meredith Rubin, the U.S. Senior Arctic Official, and White House Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, have also appeared on the current AYA’s radar as people they hope to connect with.
Perhaps most stirring and inspiring for the Ambassadors, however, was the confirmation of Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior: the first Indigenous person to become a Cabinet Secretary in the United States. Haaland’s appointment is a historic moment for Indigenous people across the nation, including the 229 federally recognized Tribes in Alaska. When Senator Murkowski decided to vote in favor of Haaland’s nomination, she offered some remarks that summarize the significant impact Haaland’s position can have on Alaska:
“The Department of the Interior — and thus the Secretary who leads it — both play an outsized role in our state. Alaska has more federal lands, more mineral resources, and more natural hazards than any other state. We are set apart by unique laws and frameworks that Congress enacted and that Presidents signed, whether our Statehood Act or ANCSA or ANILCA. We are an Arctic nation because of Alaska. And we are a diverse state, with many Indigenous peoples and cultures who have lived there since, as they say, time immemorial. We are a state that is just different.”
Given the major role the Interior Secretary plays in Alaska, and her status as the first Indigenous Cabinet Secretary, some current Ambassadors view her as the ideal audience for their stories and perspectives on life in the Arctic. They hope that the AYA Program’s linkage to the Department of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, can make a meeting with someone as influential as Secretary Haaland possible.
While the domestic landscape is looking promising for the AYA Program, things are also looking up internationally, as Arctic youth engagement is becoming an increasing priority for groups like the Arctic Council. The Arctic Council, under Icelandic Chairmanship, recently stepped up its efforts in seeking long-term collaborative relationships with youth to promote conservation. In addition, the Arctic Council’s CAFF working group recently developed a new Arctic Youth Engagement Strategy for 2021–2026, which outlines the need for youth engagement and identifies opportunities for youth to be a part of CAFF’s future work. Other examples of this growing focus on youth engagement internationally include global youth exchanges between Arctic nations, the creation of an independent global network of Arctic youth, and internships that provide experience and insight into the work of the Arctic Council. In providing young people with access to knowledge and the ability to participate in decision-making, organizations like the Arctic Council hope to develop a new generation of Arctic leaders with a strong investment in protecting and stewarding their homelands.
With this momentum, the future is bright for the Arctic Youth Ambassadors, past, present, and future. Leaders at all levels are increasing looking to youth voices for the vision and actions needed to change the world for the better. Despite a year filled with unprecedented challenges, the current class of Ambassadors are excited by the energy of the moment and eager to step up and speak up for their communities and the Arctic. And, while the AYA Program looks forward to a time when the Arctic Youth Ambassadors can meet, collaborate, and even laugh in person again, their focus remains strong: elevating Alaskan voices, grounded in the stories, passions, and needs of these Ambassadors and their communities, with the hope of a better future for our Arctic as the result.
Story by Mason Wheatley, AYA Communications Coordinator Intern and former AYA Directorate Fellow. Compiled by Katrina Liebich, Alaska Digital Media Manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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