{"id":566,"date":"2015-12-01T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T09:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/?p=566"},"modified":"2026-02-09T14:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T19:57:30","slug":"okalik-eegeesiak-addresses-global-indigenous-peoples-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/press-releases\/okalik-eegeesiak-addresses-global-indigenous-peoples-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Okalik Eegeesiak Addresses Global Indigenous Peoples in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n\r\nDecember 1, 2015 \u2013 Paris, France \u2013 Okalik Eegeesiak, Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) addressed global Indigenous peoples, world leaders, civil society and special guests and at the opening of the International Indigenous Peoples Pavilion at the UNFCCC COP 21 in Paris. Ms. Eegeesiak and Ms. Aile Javo, President of the Saami Council are the co-chairs of the Arctic Region of the International Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Forum on Climate Change (IIFCC).\r\n\r\n(Africa, Arctic, Asia, North America, Latin American and the Caribbean, the Pacific and Russia and Eastern Europe) and representatives are in Paris to bear witness to the impacts of climate change in our regions and to ensure that the agreement negotiated is robust and effective to reduce global CO2 emissions and hold global climate temperature rise to below 2oC.\r\n\r\nEegeesiak stated, \u201cthe health and well-being of Inuit and Saami are inextricably tied to the Arctic environment and in particular the tundra, the marine environment and the snow and ice. Inuit and Saami are deeply concerned about the actual and potential impacts of climate change on their cultural, social and economic health and corresponding human rights. On December 8th we will host Arctic Day and I welcome you all.\u201d Eegeesiak added, \u201cIndigenous peoples remainclosely connected to the land in every region of the globe. We are hunters, fishers, agrarians. We live on the ice, snow,the tundra, on the coastlines, in the forests, mountains, deserts and savanna\u2019s.\u201d Aile Javo, Saami Council Presidentreflected, \u201cToday activities such as reindeer herding, fishing, hunting and gathering remain important livelihoods for the Saami culture. The traditional livelihoods are fundamental for Saami culture and the only way of life for many Saami people. The Arctic, including traditional Saami territories, is facing more rapid and large scale changes than ever before.\u201d\r\n\r\nOkalik Eegeesiak delivered her remarks in Inuktitut and thanked all the indigenous peoples that have worked so hard to be in Paris to give voice to those who live each day with the impacts of climate change. Eegeesiak noted that, \u201cIndigenous peoples are here because we share a common concern\u201d. Indigenous peoples are bringing their messages of migration and relocation, crop loss, deforestation, ocean acidification and warming, sea level rise, extreme weather events, sea ice loss and changes in the biosphere -- as a result of climate change. Ms. Eegeesiak signaled that indigenous peoples have to be part of the solution, \u201dGovernment leaders, indigenous peoples, industry and NGOs must work together from the community level to the heads of state. Climate change does not divide us -- it unites us -- with a common goal to make certain all peoples can live in their homelands, support their children and leave the world a better place.\u201d\r\n\r\nMs. Eegeesiak is the Head of the ICC Delegation attending the negotiations in Paris and met with the US Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell on November 30th, and met with the Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna earlier today, and will meet with the French President, Fran\u00e7ois Hollande on December 2nd. To view the ICC COP 21 Climate Change position paper see www.inuitcircumpolar.com. The International Indigenous Peoples Pavilion made possible through the s or more information on the program at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion see\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.iipfcc.org\/cop21\/\r\n\r\nFor more information:\r\nCarole Simon, ICC Canada Cell: 613-293-9728 csimon@inuitcircumpolar.com\r\nWk: 613-563-2642\r\n\r\n___________________________________ Inuit Circumpolar Council \u2013 Office of the Chair__________________________________\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"page1image651833152\"\r\n
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\r\n\r\nIndigenous peoples have a particular contribution to make in discussions around climate change and sustainability, given their strong historic, cultural connection and the stewardship role they continue to play in sustainably managing many ofthe world\u2019s biological resources. The IIPFCC is organized by representatives from seven regions from around the globe\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"page1image651862656\"\r\n
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\r\n\r\nat the\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"page1image651864032\"\"page1image651864288\"\r\n
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\r\n\r\nUNFCCC COP 21 in Paris is located within the civil society \u2018Climate Generations Space\u2019, directly adjacent to the COP 21\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"page1image651874496\"\"page1image651874752\"\r\n
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\r\n\r\n\u201cBlue Zone\u201d negotiation space and was\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\n\r\nupport from the Governments of Norway and France,\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"page1image651882656\"\r\n
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\r\n\r\nin addition to UNDP. F\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"page1image651884976\"\r\n
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\r\n\r\n75 Albert Street, Suite 1001 \u2219 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 5E7 \u2219 P: 613.563.2642 \u2219 F: 613.565.3089 \u2219 www.inuitcircumpolar.com\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"page1image651895440\"\"page1image651895696\"\r\n\r\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-27","category-press-releases"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987515355,"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions\/987515355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inuitcircumpolar.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}