Jessica Cook, Arctic Council Secretariat: You’re listening to This Way Up, the Arctic Council podcast bringing you stories and experiences from the Arctic. I’m Jessica Cook of the Arctic Council Secretariat.
Rosa-Máren Magga, Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat: I’m Rosa-Máren Magga of the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat. And welcome to what was supposed to be the very first episode of “This Way Up” the new Arctic Council podcast.
Jessica Cook: Yes, so technically we are releasing this as the 2nd episode. Earlier in the summer we released our episode about Arctic wildfires early because of the devastating start to the 2025 wildfire season.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Exactly. But now we are all back in order, and we thought we’d give a brief introduction to who we are, why we have a podcast and what the Arctic Council is.
Jessica Cook: But in a fun way.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Yes, no lectures here.
Jessica Cook: But it is important to just set the scene, because the Arctic Council is somewhat complex, but we really want more people to understand what it is and what it does.
Rosa-Máren Magga: So we got three Arctic Council representatives into an elevator to do an elevator pitch with us during a busy international conference.
Jessica Cook: Yeah, we challenged them to tell us something about the Arctic Council in the very short time it took to get from the ground floor to the eight floor.
Rosa-Máren Magga: And then, at the Arctic Council Secretariat and the Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat we host a lot of student groups throughout the year. So we thought it would be fun to ask a group of Bachelor’s students to write down their burning questions for the Arctic Council. We’ll go through some of those as well.
Jessica Cook: But first, maybe we should tell you a little bit about the voices behind the mic. Rosa-Máren, what is the elevator pitch of why you’re here today, recording the Arctic Council podcast?
Rosa-Máren Magga: Yes, that's a good question. I think for me, naturally, the fact that I am from the Arctic. I'm from Sápmi, from the Finnish part of Sápmi, born and raised. And also my interests are in the Arctic, what is happening in the Arctic, environmental issues, international Indigenous politics and diplomacy. So all of those combined, as well as my studies that have supported this, Indigenous Studies, that I studied both in Finland and Canada, as well as my past work experience, I would say. So all of that combined has probably brought me here. What about you, Jess?
Jessica Cook: Yeah. So I'm not from the Arctic personally, so I'm from a small town in the U.S. but my professional background is in communications, and sometime in my early 20s, I took a couple of trips to the Arctic. And I think that really kind of, really stuck with me. I developed sort of a passion for the region, just from my short experiences there during that time. And I was working in corporate at the time at a corporate PR agency. And I saw a position open up at the Arctic Council Secretariat, and I thought, this is such a perfect way to combine both my professional background and then also my personal interest in the Arctic. So that's how I sort of find myself here today.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Thanks for sharing that. And, Jess if I may ask, what is one of your most memorable Arctic moments?
Jessica Cook: Oh, this is a tough one, I think. Well, one memory that really comes to mind is maybe last winter. I was I was sitting in this, this open field under the northern lights in the middle of winter. And it was just it was so peaceful. It was, there had been a light snowfall and and the sky was just completely open to these beautiful dancing northern lights. And I was all alone. But then I suddenly sort of got a feeling like there was someone or something watching me, and it made me a little bit nervous. And I'm not usually nervous when I'm when I'm outside. But, in the distance, I saw what I thought were bushes, but then I noticed, like, these bushes were slowly moving closer to me. And then I took, you know, when they got it got closer, I realized it was not bushes, it was reindeer. So they were just very quietly, grazing in the distance. And it was just it was so peaceful. It was just such a nice, peaceful moment here in the Arctic. And I think that that is a moment that sticks with me. But how about you?
Rosa-Máren Magga: It's probably difficult to distinguish, or to have only one very memorable moment, because I was born and raised in the Arctic. But I would say that so, I’m from a Sámi reindeer herding family and, reindeer husbandry, traditional reindeer husbandry, is very close to my heart. And that's the, the main economy to my family. So, all of the seasonal work, I try to participate in. And I have done that since I was very small. So all of the, seasonal work, let's say, during the summer, the calf marking time, that's a really, really nice time - nice time of a year. So the the bright summer nights when we are marking our calves. And that's very special. I see that our family and reindeer, and also in the winter time, like gathering the reindeer for the corral, for the reindeer round-ip. Yeah, I would say that just all of that seasonal work is, that's a really special time.
Jessica Cook: Now that you’ve gotten to learn a little more about us, let’s step into the elevator and talk about the Arctic Council.
Rosa-Máren Magga: And maybe we need to have a pre-elevator pitch, elevator pitch about the Council...because there’s terms we throw around a lot like Permanent Participant and Senior Arctic Official. But what do they actually mean?
Jessica Cook: Yeah so very briefly, the Arctic Council is the leading forum for cooperation between Arctic States and Arctic Indigenous Peoples on issues of environmental protection and sustainable development. It was established in 1996, so we’re almost in our thirties.
Rosa-Máren Magga: A milestone!
Jessica Cook: The Council is made up of eight Arctic States that have territory above the Arctic Circle. And each State appoints a representative to the Arctic Council. These state representatives are called Senior Arctic Officials, and they represent their country in the Arctic Council.
Rosa-Máren Magga: And then we have a special category, Permanent Participants. These are Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations that sit at the same table as nation states. Now, this is a unique status in international cooperation. There are six Permanent Participants.
Jessica Cook: So, we like to say that the engine of the Arctic Council is really its Working Groups. They address topics including Arctic Peoples, biodiversity, climate, ocean, pollutants and emergencies. This is where project-level work is carried out.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Ok so, without further ado, let’s step into the elevator and hear from Arctic Council representatives themselves.
Jessica Cook: So let’s start with Patrick Huber, who is Chair of the Arctic Contaminants Action Program Working Group. We ask him an existential question – what is the Arctic Council’s role?
Rosa-Máren Magga: What role does the Arctic Council play?
Patrick Huber, Chair, Arctic Contaminants Action Program: I think the Arctic Council has two important roles. First is a convener of a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary actors, cross-sector individuals who represent Indigenous Peoples, and the member states of the Arctic to develop solutions for keeping the Arctic a healthier place for everybody.
And the second is to give voice to the people of the Arctic, a collective voice to communicate both within and outside of the Arctic Council, to talk about what we can all do together to make the Arctic a better place.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Next, we step into the elevator with Gunn-Britt Retter of the Saami Council, one of the Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council.
Jessica Cook: So Gunn-Britt, what makes the Arctic Council special?
Gunn-Britt Retter, Head of Arctic and Environmental Unit, Saami Council: What makes Arctic Council so special is Arctic Indigenous Peoples organizations having a role as Permanent Participants at the Council, and I consider that a means of democratization, recognizing the rights Indigenous Peoples have to be at the table.
And what we bring to that space is Indigenous Knowledge systems that are so deeply embodied in our cultures and represents a link to intergenerational exchange and multifaceted, systematic way of thinking, being and acting.
Jessica Cook: Finally, we got Petteri Vuorimäki, Senior Arctic Official for Finland and asked him what he thinks is a common misunderstanding about the Council.
Rosa-Máren Magga: There is quite a lot of misunderstanding of what the Arctic Council is and what it isn’t. Could you debunk the Arctic Council for us?
Petteri Vuorimäki, former Arctic Ambassador and Senior Arctic Official for Finland: A lot of people thought that the Arctic Council collapsed in 2022 following Russia's attack. It did not, the Arctic Council wa s still alive with eight member States and six Permanent Participants.
It is up and running. It is the most important corporation format in circumpolar Arctic. It is hugely important for the Indigenous Peoples to sit at the same table with the governments and it's, that makes the council unique and it is after all the Council that brought the Arctic climate change to the global attention, it's done wonderful things during the 27, 28 years of its successes.
Jessica Cook: This was such a fun exercise.
Rosa-Máren Magga: It really was, and we had to re-do it so many times because we kept having random visitors getting on the elevator.
Jessica Cook: If you ever want to test your elevator pitch skills under pressure, doing it at the venue of a major international conference is definitely the place to do it.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Let’s now turn to the student group and the questions they wrote down for us. Okay so question one: What are current issues or priorities of the Arctic Council being discussed?
Jessica Cook: Good question! Well, honestly, one of the advantages of the Arctic Council, its different Working Groups and big network of experts is that it can cover so many different topics at the same time. So there are many different Arctic issues or topics being addressed. Off the top of my head, some of the big ones are:
So...there’s a lot.
Rosa-Máren Magga: And the Permanent Participants also have their own priorities as Indigenous Peoples’ organizations that represent their Peoples and their values, but they also have common priorities that they work jointly with.
Jessica Cook: True. And then, each State that Chairs the Arctic Council comes in with their own priorities. So right now the Kingdom of Denmark Chairs the Arctic Council and has 5 key priorities: Oceans, Indigenous Peoples and Communities of the Arctic, Sustainable Economic Development and Energy Transition Solutions, Oceans, and Climate Change in the Arctic.
So these overarching priorities sort of set the agenda every two years, and Working Groups advance their projects according to two-year work plans.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Moving on to question two: What does it mean to be a Permanent Participant vs. A Member State? What difference do these statuses make? This is a very good question. A bit earlier we heard from Gunn-Britt Retter about the special role Indigenous Peoples play in the Arctic Council as Permanent Participants.
But just to speak broadly about international multilateral organizations, these are usually created by States for States, so they have a seat at the table and are the ones making decisions. Indigenous Peoples have fought for their seat at the table for decades, longer even. But for most organizations, Indigenous Peoples are more like Observers.
What makes the Arctic Council unique is that when it was first created, Arctic Indigenous Peoples demanded a seat at the same table as nation states, and would not back down – and paved their way to be seated at the same table. We can credit this to Mary Simon, who is currently Governor General of Canada, but at the time was lead negotiator for the founding document of the Arctic Council. She, and other Indigenous Peoples’ representatives, negotiated so that they would have a special status called Permanent Participants. So they are more than just Observers. They are actively involved in negotiations and decisions and setting the agenda.
Jessica Cook: Yes, and so formally on paper, Arctic States have decision-making rights, and the Permanent Participants have consultation rights. But the way the Arctic Council has operated is that if the Permanent Participants have a stance on a certain topic or decision item, States won’t just ignore this. They are fundamentally involved in every negotiation. And importantly, they contribute on the working-level as well as Indigenous Knowledge Holders and experts that participate in projects.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Next up we have: How does the Council navigate political tensions or changes?
Jessica Cook: This is a great question. And I think the answer is in the makeup of the Council. So when it was established, the Arctic States agreed that all issues of military security will be excluded from being discussed in the Council. That’s huge, and the fact that the Council doesn’t deal with security has in a way shielded it from some geopolitical issues.
The other part of this is that the Arctic Council is a consensus organization between eight States. So, geopolitical issues are generally handled bi-laterally or in other forums. The Council’s mandate is very clear that it addresses issues of environmental protection and sustainable development. I think some people maybe wrongly assume that the Arctic Council sits around a table and discusses big power politics. But in all reality, they’re around that table discussing phasing out harmful firefighting foams or how to empower youth and engaging Indigenous Peoples more thoroughly.
Rosa-Máren Magga: I think that’s probably all the questions we have time for at the moment, but if you the listener have any questions about the Arctic Council you’d like us to answer or address, please feel free to reach out to us using the email address media (at) arctic dash council (dot) org or anything specifically addressed to the Indigenous Peoples’ Seceratriat, ips (at) arctic dash council (dot) org.
Before we end this episode, maybe we should quickly touch on why we’re making this podcast and what we hope to achieve with it.
Jessica Cook: Yes, we’ve been talking about doing a podcast for a long time, and we’re really excited to release our first season. One of our goals from the very beginning was to highlight stories from the Arctic that focus on communities and issues that are important for the people of the Arctic. The storytelling aspect was very important, that it isn’t a lecture-style podcast.
Rosa-Máren Magga: So in each episode, you will hear from different people from the Arctic or working with the Arctic discuss different topics and sharing their stories. And Jessica and I will be narrating, weaving the stories together and helping to connect the dots.
Jessica Cook: We also know that some of the topics we cover can be pretty complex. We’ll touch on topics like food security, cultures in transition, climate change and the likes. But we try not to make it all doom and gloom. Because while the Arctic is changing, there are some really unique and inspiring solutions out there to the challenges we face. So as much as a lot of these topics can bring about feelings of helplessness, there is a lot of room for hope. We really believe that. And we want you to see that too.
Rosa-Máren Magga: Whether you live in the Arctic, are familiar with the region or just curious, we hope that each episode gives insights or new perspectives on key Arctic issues, and perhaps even inspires you to take action.
We hope you’ll tune in, and be sure to rate, review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.