Gwich'in Council International: Board of Directors

Board of Directors

NWT Winter Camp, GRRB Inuvik photo

The GCI Board is composed of two members from the Northwest Territories, two members from the Yukon and four members from Alaska. The Chairmanship rotates between the Northwest Territories and Yukon with each region nominating the Director who will assume the Chairmanship responsibilities. The Vice Chairperson is filled with a member from Alaska.

General direction to the activities of the GCI is provided by the Chairperson, Mary Ann Ross who is the Vice-President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council. Day-to-day activities of the GCI are managed by an Executive Director in Canada who also provides administrative support to GCI members who are US citizens.

GCI has a number of priorities that relate to the environment, youth, culture and tradition, social and economic development and education.

As a permanent participant to the Arctic Council, funding for GCI comes from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Canada. These funds allow for management of a Secretariat and travel of GCI members to the Arctic Council and its affiliated working group meetings. The US State Department in Alaska provides some funding through the Indigenous Peoples Secretariat to support Gwich'in who are US Citizens to participate in the Arctic Council meetings. To supplement these funds the GCI applies for funds through proposal submissions to take part in specific projects.

The following are present members of the GCI Board:

Mary Ann Ross, Chairperson NWT representative Mary Ann Ross is Gwichya Gwich'in from the community of Inuvik. Before being elected as GTC Vice-President, Mary Ann Ross worked with the GTC as the Employment Liaison Officer, then Executive Assistant to the President. Mary Ann decided to enter the election for Vice-President believing it would be an opportunity to challenge herself and to work in a position where she could make a difference for her people. Mary Ann was elected as the Vice-President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council in July 2003 and holds a variety of portofolios related to the implementation of the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim. Mary Ann's goals during the four-year term is to work extremely hard to ensure that every Gwich'in person – whether young, mid-age or Elder – receives the best benefits of the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement and the economic benefits of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. P.O. Box 1509, Inuvik, NWT X0E 0T0 Phone: (867) 777-7905 Fax: (867) 777-7919 Email: gci@gwichin.nt.ca

Bobbie Jo Greenland, Youth Representative NWT representative Bobbie Jo Greenland is from the Ehdiitat and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nations of Aklavik, NWT and Old Crow, Yukon. Bobbie Jo has a college diploma in Management Studies from Yukon College. She has completed 3 years of University studies towards a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Environmental Health at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina, Saskatchewan. In 1999-2000 Bobbie Jo was a representative for the NWT on Environment Canada's Youth Round Table on Environment. She also served as the alternate Board Member for the Gwich'in Tribal Council on the Porcupine Caribou Management Board from 1998-2000. She has past experience working alongside many of her people for the preservation and protection of the Porcupine Caribou and their calving grounds. She received numerous conservation awards for her efforts. From September 2005 to March 2006, Bobbie Jo will participate in the Circumpolar Young Leaders Internship Program at the Indigenous Peoples Secretariat Office in Copenhagen Denmark. By enhancing her education and work experiences, Bobbie Jo hopes to contribute towards a brighter and healthier future for all people in the Northern Region of Canada, which she calls home. P.O. Box 1509, Inuvik, NWT X0E 0T0 Phone: (867) 777-6616 Fax: (867) 777-6601 Email: tkmanager@grrb.nt.ca

Joe Linklater, Senior Arctic Official Yukon representative Chief Joe Linklater is Vuntut Gwitchin from the community of Old Crow, Yukon. He is serving his third term as Chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. Chief Linklater is one of the founding members of the Gwich'in Council International (GCI). He assumed Chairmanship of GCI in 2002 for a two-year term while the file was managed by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. During this term, Chief Linklater provided leadership to GCI Directors in terms of full and active participation at the Arctic Council meetings. He is a spokesperson and lobbyist for the Gwich'in on a number of issues related to the environment, education, economic development, and capacity building. P.O. Box 94, Old Crow, YT YOB 1NO Phone: (867) 966-3261 Fax: (867) 966-3116 Email: jlinklater@vgfn.net

Tonya Garnett, Youth Representative Alaska representative Tonya Garnett is Neets'aii Gwich'in originally from Arctic Village, Alaska. Tonya graduated from UAF in May 2002 with a B.A. in Sociology and in Alaska Native Studies. She currently works for Tanana Chiefs Conference as a Tribal Development Coordinator under the Self Governance program. Tonya previously worked for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Arctic Village Council and Youth Employment Services with the Tanana Chiefs Conference. Tonya will begin her first year this Fall 2005 in the Rural Development Masters Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 122 First Avenue, Suite 600, Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: (907) 452-8251, ext. 3250 Fax: (907) 459-3947 Email: tonyagarnett@hotmail.com

Craig Fleener, Senior Arctic Official Alaska representative Craig Fleener is Vuntut Gwitchin from Fort Yukon, Alaska and currently serves as the Regional Wildlife Biologist with the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments in Fort Yukon. Craig graduated from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks in 1999 with a BSc. in Natural Resources Management and is currently working towards a MSc. in Wildlife Biology through the Resources and the Environment Program at the University of Calgary, Alberta. He was nominated as a Director to the Gwich'in Council International in 2003 by the Chiefs in Alaska. As a Director to GCI, Craig participates in the Senior Arctic Officials meetings and other affliated working groups of the Arctic Council. He was chosen as the GCI representative on the CAFF Working Group because of his extensive background in Natural Resources. 113 Angel Pond Subdivision, Fort Yukon, AK 99740 Phone: (907) 662-3587 Fax: (907) 662-3333 Email: cfleener@catg.org

Executive Director

Bridget Larocque
Gwich'in Council International
P.O. Box 3106
Inuvik, NWT X0E 0T0

Phone: (867) 777-5960
Fax: (867) 777-5994
E-mail: blarocque_gci@northwestel.net

GCI Involvement with the Arctic Council

Old Crow, Mary Jane Moses photo

As members of the Gwich'in Council International (GCI), Gwich'in Nations ensure that all Gwich'in people from the Northwest Territories to the Yukon and Alaska are represented at meetings of the Arctic Council. As a Permanent Participant to the Arctic Council, the GCI receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. This funding provides Canadian GCI members with the opportunity to participate effectively in the Arctic Council and its working groups. The US State Department in Alaska provides funding through the Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat (IPS) to support GCI Board members who are US citizens with the means to attend the Arctic Council meetings.

GCI involvement extends beyond attendance at the Senior Arctic Officials and ministerial meetings of the Arctic Council. GCI members also participate in the working groups related to the Arctic Monitoring Assessment Program, the Arctic Human Development Report, and the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment working groups which the members determine to be of most significant to the Gwich'in Nation in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska. The GCI brings the Gwich'in people together with other nations to discuss important issues that will affect indigenous peoples living in the circumpolar Arctic.

The Arctic Council was created in 1996 with the purpose of advancing circumpolar cooperation. The mandate of the Council is to protect the arctic environment and promote the economies and the social and cultural well-being of northern peoples. The Council is made up of eight member states that include Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Sweden and the United States (Alaska).

The Arctic Council involves international indigenous peoples' organizations as Permanent Participants. These organizations include the Gwich'in Council International, the Arctic Athapaskan Council, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, and the Aleut International Association. Observers to the Arctic Council come from several non-arctic states and from non-governmental and international organizations.

The Arctic Council has five working groups: the Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG), the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the Emergency Prevention Prepareness and Response working group (EPPR), and the Protection of Arctic Marine Environment working group (PAME).

The Chair of the Arctic Council rotates among the member countries every two years. Iceland is the current chair and will serve to October 2004.

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