INUVIK
Inuvik is noticeably slower this week, as most visitors in town for the Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly and Northern Games have made their way back to their home communities.

A compilation of drummers and dancers from Canada, Greenland and Alaska take part in the closing ceremonies of the 2014 Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly, which brought more than 600 Inuit to Inuvik last week. The Chukotka (Russia) delegation was unable to bring performers of its own, but the delegates themselves displayed some of their own traditional dances on the last day of the assembly, July 24. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

Although the assembly may be complete, the discussions held and decisions made will continue to impact the work of the council for the next four years, until circumpolar Inuit meet again to discuss common issues.

"I think this is one of the most crucial, if not the most crucial, ICC general assemblies yet," said Duane Smith, who began his fourth term as president of ICC Canada at the conclusion of the conference.

Smith had spoken of the importance of this assembly early on in the gathering, citing international interest in the Arctic and global warming as compounding factors that are having an impact on the Inuit way of life around the globe.

He expressed gratitude to the assembly participants for seeing this importance and bringing their knowledge to the table throughout the four-day meetings.

"They didn't shy away from being open and frank," said Smith. "We had meaningful deliberations."

At the conclusion of the assembly, delegates ratified the Kitigaaryuit Declaration, a document with 51 recommendations which will inform the work of the ICC for the next four years.

Common themes throughout the declaration include the importance of all circumpolar Inuit working together in unity to have a stronger voice on the world stage as decisions are made about the future of the Arctic, the need to slow down and mitigate the effects of climate change, concerns about opening up the Arctic Ocean to commercial fishing, and support for a moratorium on this practice until fish stocks have been adequately assessed.

The Kitigaaryuit Declaration is named after a traditional whaling village and meeting site near Tuktoyaktuk.

While ICC executive from the circumpolar Arctic normally only meet once every four years at the general assembly, the Kitigaaryuit Declaration calls for two more Inuit-specific conferences before the next general assembly. One will be an Inuit economic development conference, aimed to complement the newly-established Arctic Economic Council. The other will be a wildlife management and planning conference.

"Wildlife matters have been coming up and the focus on that has become quite elevated at the international level," said Smith.

There are many other international wildlife forums that have cropped up over the past several years, which Smith said has impacts on Inuit traditional harvesting. He envisions the wildlife management and planning conference as a means to bring all Inuit hunters and trappers organizations, as well as other organizations, together to share how they conduct their research and wildlife management activities.

The next Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly is scheduled to be hosted in Barrow, Alaska, in 2018.