Inuvik (May 01/06) - When Bobbie-Jo Greenland had an opportunity to share her Gwich'in heritage and outlook with the rest of the circumpolar world, she happily leaped at the chance.

For six months just recently ended, she was an intern working on sustainable development projects that look at how global warming affects the cultures of aboriginal peoples of the Arctic.

"It was an awesome experience to learn about other cultures and just as important to share and teach others about us people who live in the northwestern part of Canada," Greenland said to sum up her trip.

"People out there have no clue what makes us who we are as indigenous peoples," she said. "So now there are people from Europe in places like Bulgaria, Poland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden who now know something about the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit people of the Mackenzie Delta."

The Circumpolar Young Leaders program that sent Greenland to Europe is an annual opportunity offered through the Indigenous Peoples Secretariat of the eight-nation-member Arctic Council, Greenland explained.

As an intern, Greenland helped gather information for a variety of aboriginal groups trying to convince their home governments to acknowledge the effects of global warming on their ways of life.

"In terms of Arctic science, all the results presented tell us that the Arctic is warming at an increasing rate, so that whatever happens to the Arctic will have effects on the rest of the world," she said.

While people in the Delta understand that weather changes have an effect here, Greenland now knows that what goes on here is repeated for aboriginals in far-flung lands, too. "Indigenous peoples in all Arctic countries are facing the same issues," she said.

Now she's back in Inuvik, Greenland is the traditional knowledge communications manager with the Gwich'in Renewable Resources Board.

"Indigenous groups can learn from each other to develop policies and compare experiences," she said, noting that will change how a person sees their home.

"It gave me a whole different perspective of Canada that I'd never had before," she said.

In Denmark, for example, they have a much stronger "green" ethic than in Canada.

"People in general are more active physically, walking a lot or riding a bike," Greenland pointed out. "Here in Canada we are trying to encourage people to take public transit, but in Denmark they want you to get off public transit and ride a bike."

It's that broader awareness of what others are facing that makes Greenland want to encourage young aboriginal people to sign up for their own six-month internship with the Arctic Council, co-ordinated by the Winnipeg-based International Institute of Sustainable Development. The deadline for applications is May 30.