Sources of Truth: Do Arctic geopolitical narratives sideline climate science and Indigenous rights?

As the world's nations turn their eyes toward the fast-melting North, a new race is on for this fresh frontier to help secure energy independence, economic prosperity, and military dominance. And, in an increasing fractured global geopolitic, military and energy security have never been more important.

But that's just one version of the story. Too often, state-centered framing risks sidelining the urgency of both climate change and Indigenous rights. Today, Arctic climate research is caught in the crossfire of geopolitics, crippled by sanctions against Russia and, more recently, the US's decommissioning of decades of climate data. And the Indigenous peoples of the North are impacted by border closings, militarization, and renewable energy development promoted for the sake of energy independence. Who's telling these stories, and how should they be valued?

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion around the fire as we probe the popular narratives powering headlines about the high North. We'll bring together an Indigenous leader, climate scientist, journalist, and politician to reveal gaps in current coverage, and what they say about our priorities in this fast-changing world.

We'll dig into big questions:
What values are currently shaping current conversations about the high North, and where do they come from?
How can we balance large-scale questions of geopolitical security with scientific openness, climate cooperation, and securing human rights?
In an era that seems increasingly fractured and winner-takes-all, what does it mean to strive for collaboration, reconciliation and understanding?