Decolonizing Gender in the Arctic
From left to right: Zoe, Sonny (Action & Advocacy Organizing Lead), Jazmyn and Michaela (Youth Education Lead) at the Arctic Youth Conference in Tromsø, Norway.
April 21st, 2025 | Written By: Sonny (Action & Advocacy Organizing Lead) & Michaela (Youth Education Lead)
Earlier this year, Sonny, our Action and Advocacy Organizing Lead, and Michaela, our Youth Education Lead, hosted a session on Decolonizing Gender and Untangling Colonialism at the first Arctic Youth Conference in Tromsø, Norway. This was done in collaboration with young Alaska Native community members, including Zoe (a participant in our first Youth Cohort) and Jazmyn (an advocate for the Yukon River Salmon and against Ambler Road), who helped inform the conversation with their own lived experiences and shared values.
After attending several international and national conferences pertaining to the Arctic, we realized that these spaces often avoid a true grounding and context into what colonialism looks like in the Arctic, and how colonialism intersects with and causes gendered violence and injustice. Additionally, the presence of Indigenous peoples and/or youth is often tokenized: their involvement is seen as a box to be checked to validate and overlook ongoing colonialism. The Arctic Youth Conference was the perfect space to initiate this conversation with youth that are just beginning their careers in advocacy work, both in their communities and around the world.
Jazmyn Vent leading breakout session
In order to allow for proper discussion and communal learning, we structured the session to spend half of the time introducing concepts and definitions and the other half on small group discussions with a short share-back afterwards. Being able to listen to the participants share their lived experiences was informative in our own understanding of how these issues manifest in different countries and communities.
After sharing the context around colonialism and the impacts on women, a participant from Greenland shared with us the history of Denmark’s campaign of forced sterilization in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) between the 1960s-70s. As many as 4,500 women and girls, or half of the fertile women in Greenland, received birth control implants – many without their knowledge or consent. Undeniably, this has had generational impacts on Greenlandic communities and culture—a clear tactic of genocide. This is just one manifestation of the impacts of colonialism, especially as it pertains to Arctic Indigenous women.
We also heard and shared that Inuit languages in Alaska and Greenland do not have gendered pronouns. In these languages, gender mainly shows up in terms for family members (e.g. your mom’s brother). A participant living within Canadian borders shared that her Dene language does not have gendered pronouns, either. We also shared this graphic of gender identity terms in Alaska Native languages.
In our experiences, these terms are not used regularly because of colonialism (the policy or practice in which imperial powers declare and assert themselves as intellectually, culturally, or otherwise superior). Colonial forces imposed binary gender constructs and gender-based violence, causing these language terms to become dormant. However, we believe that sharing the history of the usage of these words and the community context involved will help ground us in the long existence, revitalization and respect of these identities.
Although these topics feel heavy, the discussion felt collaborative, built mutual understanding, and allowed for participants to reflect on their positive experiences of gender expansiveness, revitalization of Indigenous languages, and how decolonizing looks in their own lives and communities. We nurtured our existing friendships with Alaska Native youth, created new ones with Greenlandic and Canadian Inuit and Sámi, and carried the influence of these conversations into other discussions around Arctic policy, land care, and building youth leadership.
If you’re interested in learning more about these topics, please consider applying for Native Movement’s Youth Cohort. The Youth Cohort is a 10-month long program designed to mentor Indigenous community organizing and movement leadership skills among people aged 18-26. Applications are due by May 15th, 2025.
