As Donald Trump prepares for his second term as U.S. president, anxieties are growing in Canada's Arctic about the implications for the environment, indigenous rights, and regional security.
As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House later this month, some northerners are anxious about what the new U.S. administration will mean for the Arctic environment, circumpolar politics and the fight against climate change. For Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost, Donald Trump 's return to the White House heralds a period of uncertainty for her First Nation, and likely a renewed fight over development in the region.
Pauline Frost, chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in northern Yukon, usually looks forward to late January, when the winter sun returns to her Arctic village. This year, however, feels different to Frost. The predictable return of longer days happens to coincide with something much less predictable, and hugely consequential: Donald Trump's return to the White House. 'There are uncertain times before us,' said Frost, from Old Crow, Yukon, where her First Nation is based. 'It's just so unpredictable, you just have to be ready to react. It is something we think about all the time.'The transboundary Gwich'in Nation spans Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Salmon and caribou are both traditional staples and the heart of Gwich'in culture. Protecting the land, water and animals is a key part of security for the Gwich'in, says Frost — and she's bracing for the possibility of a renewed fight over those things under another Trump administration. The incoming U.S. president has made clear his intention to develop Alaska's North Slope, home to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, which the Gwich'in depend on. The area is also home to massive oil reserves.'the sacred place where life begins,' and the fight over oil development there has ebbed and flowed for decades, depending on who's sitting in the White House — similar to the battle over offshore drilling. An airplane flies over caribou from the Porcupine caribou herd on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/The Associated Press) The Biden administration tried to limit oil drilling in ANWR, even into its final weeks in power, but just days into this new year, the State of Alaska is challenging that in court.'We can never predict what Trump will do,' she said.Frost is not alone among northerners who are anxious to see what a second Trump presidency will mean for the Arctic region. He cited Russia and China's growing interest and aggression in the region, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement this week that he was stepping down. To Coates, Canada's international standing in the Arctic is already weak — and likely to get weaker, at least until Trudeau's successor is in place. 'Mr. Trump will continue to push us and we'll probably make bad decisions as a result. Rather than the ones that serve the interests of the North, we'll do the ones that serve the interests of the United States,' he said. Ken Coates, chair of the Yukon Arctic Security Advisory Council, left, with Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai in January 2024. (Julien Gignac/CBC) 'We should be looking instead at saying, 'What do we need in the North for our security and our defence?'' There is also the question of Indigenous rights in the circumpolar region, and some experts think things could change dramatically in the coming months and years. 'If Trump's bullying of Greenland in the last few days is any indication, there's no respect or awareness of Indigenous rights,' said Whitney Lackenbauer, Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North at Trent University. Lackenbauer said the Biden administration, along with Trudeau's government and Greenland, represent an awareness of and sensitivity to respect for Indigenous rights-holders, and recognizing them as key figures in setting the agenda for the Arctic region. He called Trump's recent comments about making Canada the 51st state, and taking over Greenland, bombastic and unprecedented rhetoric — but worth paying attention to. 'It indicates that the U.S. under Trump is not going to behave in a way that's congenial or friendly, even though they are a key ally to so many of us.' Kuupik Kleist, former government leader in Greenland, said he agrees Trump's comments can't be dismissed as silly or amusing. Kleist said he remembers Trump's first term in office, when Kleist was a commissioner to the Inuit Circumpolar Council and Greenland was seen as the centre of a power struggle for the Arctic. 'These threats must be taken very seriously,' said Greenland's former government leader Kuupik Kleist, seen here in 2013. (Polfoto, Finn Frandsen/The Associated Press)'At least during my lifetime, it is the biggest threat.' Greenland's current prime minister, Múte B. Egede, like Kleist advocates for greater independence from Denmark, and has said Greenland doesn't want to be American
ARCTIC POLITICS CLIMATE CHANGE DONALD TRUMP INDIGENOUS RIGHTS UNITED STATES
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