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Filmmaker Kelly Moneymaker is dedicated to documenting how Indigenous people across the world — especially in the Arctic — are adapting to a rapidly changing climate. Moneymaker, who is Samoan and was raised by an adoptive Iñupiaq father, pivoted her career after a successful run in pop music to highlight Indigenous stories on film. Her work has been showcased at United Nations Climate Conferences, prestigious film festivals, and previous Arctic Encounter Summits in Anchorage, Alaska. We’ll speak to Moneymaker about her film work and Rachel Kallander, Arctic Encounter Summit founder and CEO, will join us for a review of this year’s convening of global leaders and stakeholders.

 

Break 1 Music: Humma [Feat. Kendra Tagoona & Tracy Sarazin] (song) Sultans of String (artist)

Break 2 Music: Me & You (song) Manitou Mkwa Singers (artist) Me & You (single)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 38.8MB) | Embed

There are no casinos or lotteries in Alaska. The state has some of the most restrictive gaming laws in the country, but the small Dena’ina Athabascan Village of Eklutna, located in Anchorage’s municipality, is pushing the envelope on tribal gaming rights in the state. The Chin’an Gaming Hall is still open even after a year of legal disputes and threats by the state to close its doors. The village is also at the forefront of climate advocacy in southcentral Alaska. They have been working to restore their river’s namesake and salmon habitat. We’ll speak with the Eklutna’s president Aaron Leggett, live from the Arctic Encounter Summit in Anchorage, an annual gathering of policymakers, diplomats, Indigenous leaders, and stakeholders.

We’ll also hear from Alaska Native elders and subsistence rights advocates from St. Lawrence Island about whaling and contamination from a former military site on the island.

GUESTS

Aaron Leggett (Dena’ina Athabascan), president of the Village of Eklutna

Vi Waghiyi (Yupik), environmental health and justice program director at the Alaska Community Action on Toxics

Merle Apassingok (Yupik), elder and leader from the Native Village of Gambell

Dr. Sara Olsvig (Inuit), chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council

 

Break 1 Music: Kunax yak’ei gayshagook (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) Siy​á​adlan (album)

Break 2 Music: Me & You (song) Manitou Mkwa Singers (artist) Me & You (single)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 38.8MB) | Embed

President Donald Trump is pushing for more oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic, a decision directly impacting Iñupiaq communities. Millions of acres in the National Petroleum Reserve were opened for oil and gas leasing and the administration’s reversal of Biden-era protections has the potential to open up the pristine National Wildlife Refuge for leasing and drilling. Some Iñupiaq communities welcome the potential for more oil drilling that promises to boost revenue and jobs for shareholders. Others worry about the environment and their ability to carry on subsistence lifestyles. We’ll get perspectives from Iñupiaq leaders about the future of economic development in the Arctic. We’re broadcasting live from the 2026 Arctic Encounter Summit in Anchorage, Alaska.

GUESTS

Asisaun Toovak (Iñupiaq), mayor of Utqiagvik, Alaska

Pearl Brower (Iñupiaq), president and CEO of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation

Nagruk Harcharek (Iñupiaq), president and CEO of The Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE)

 

Break 1 Music: Ikitaa (song) PIQSIQ (artist)

Break 2 Music: Me & You (song) Manitou Mkwa Singers (artist) Me & You (single)

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Traditional culture meets global international economic development at the Bering Straits Native Corporation. The collection of tribes plays a key role in the Port of Nome that is working to develop the nation’s first deepwater port in the Arctic. It is among the big — and small — economic development visions for Indigenous people in the Arctic region. We’ll hear about those opportunities as well as some concerns about balancing financial and traditional environmental well-being being discussed at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska.

GUESTS

Haven Harris (enrolled tribal member of the Nome Eskimo Community), senior vice president of growth and strategy for the Bering Straits Native Corporation

Edward Alexander (Gwich’in), co-councilor for Gwich’in Council International

Rachel Kallander, founder and CEO of Arctic Encounter Symposium

Kuno Fencker (Inuit), member of the parliament of Greenland

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:25 — 38.7MB) | Embed

Canada, Norway, Denmark, and the U.S. are among the handful of countries with land above the Arctic Circle. Each of those has significant Indigenous populations with their own cultures built around the land, sea, and ice that they have always inhabited. We’ll hear from some of those Indigenous people who are working across borders to learn from, advocate for, and work with their counterparts in other countries. We’re broadcasting live from the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska.

GUESTS

Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer (Iñupiaq), member of the board for the Arctic Encounter Symposium

Dr. Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon (Iñupiaq), Indigenous researcher and Arctic Fulbright Scholar

 

Break 1 Music: Tikitaummata (song) Susan Aglukark (artist) The Crossing (album)

Break 2 Music: Grandmother’s Song (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Iskwewak (album)