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May 6 , 2005

Duo to attempt summer polar trek

Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen from Minnesota are about to start on a 1,500-kilometre trek across the Arctic Ocean to draw attention to Arctic warming.

The journey is to begin May 12 when the men paddle their boats away from Cape Arctichesky in Siberia. They hope to arrive at Ellesmere Island 98 days later. The North Pole will mark the expedition's halfway point.

While dogsled and ski teams have crossed the frozen Arctic Ocean in the winter, a summer crossing by kayak and skis will be a first.

The two will collect snow and water samples, which will be analyzed for mercury, lead and other chemicals, and they will measure water pools that collect on top of sea ice.

Each will have a kayak stuffed with food, clothing and equipment. When they can't paddle, they'll ski and pull their boats behind them.

Follow the "One World Expedition" at: http://oneworldexpedition.com.

May 6 , 2005

Danish can stay on Greenland's air waves

News will continue to be broadcast in Danish in Greenland, after parliament rejected a bill by the social democratic Siumut party to limit the amount of Danish-language news broadcasts on the national broadcasting station, KNR.

The proposal met with strong opposition from the many Greenlanders who only understand Danish and who rely on the news in Danish as their source of information. There are also many Danes who work temporarily in Greenland who do not understand Greenlandic.

MLA Per Rosing-Petersen, who presented the bill, said the time was ripe to do away with Danish news broadcasts. He said the Faeroe Islands, another member of the Danish Commonwealth, only broadcast local news in Faeroese.

The bill's supporters said Danish news broadcasts are a relic from Greenland's colonial past. Eliminating them would encourage both more Greenlanders and Danes living in Greenland to learn Greenlandic.

Rosing-Petersen's proposal met with opposition both from conservative parties as well as Siumut's coalition partner, the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit Party.

"The proposal is neither realistic nor suitable," said Kuupik Kleist, one of Greenland's two members of Denmark's parliament and a long-time IA member. "The goal must be that the public, regardless of language or skin colour, has access to as much information as possible so they can take part in public debate."

May 6 , 2005

One people, one flag

The city of Oslo, Norway will not hoist the Saami flag on May 17, Norway's Constitution Day, the Oslo city council decided recently.

"We are not one people with two flags, but rather one people with one flag," stated council member Runar Gerhardsen.

Oslo's Mayor Per Ditlev-Simonsen supported the decision.

"Our Saami friends need to understand that very many feel that the other 364 days of the year are better suited for taking a stand," said Simonsen last week.

May 6 , 2005

Saami music festival celebrates 2005

The theme of this summer's Riddu Riddu Indigenous Music and Arts Festival is celebration.

"Celebration and joy have characterized the festival through all the years, and this is what we wish to accent this year by focusing on different ways to celebrate," said organizer Lene Hansen.

The festival takes place the second weekend in July in Mandalen, a seaside community north of Tromsø, Norway.

This year's program includes NoKTuRNAL from Australia, which presents hardcore aboriginal rock.

The program, which was announced this week, also includes, among others: Wa-Ta-Ga form Karelia, Alit Boazo (Sápmi), DJ Amoc (Sápmi), Sheng Xiang & Water 3 (Taiwan), Johanne Ballovarre, Namgar (Burjatia), Transjoik (Sápmi), Tungtvann, The Lite, Djiromansa (Senegal/Norway), The White Cockatoo (Australia), Cheinesh (Altay), Kevãz`vezi (Vepsian).

A Riddu Riddu International Football (Soccer) Cup is also on the program for the first time.

During the festival, the Saami youth organization Davvi Nuorra is holding its annual Indigenous Youth Camp.

The youth camp has been a part of Riddu Riddu for the last five years. At this camp, Saami and other indigenous youth have a unique opportunity to meet and exchange cultural skills and experiences.

Campers will also take part in the seminar "Youth and Celebrations," offered as part of the general festival program.

IYC has room for 35 indigenous participants from all over the world. The deadline for applications is June 1. The fee for participation is 750 NOK (about $150), including food, accommodation, courses and a pass to the festival.

For more information, visit www.riddu.com.

May 6 , 2005

Ice cream to help Arctic warming

Jerry Greenfield was in London last week to launch a college that will train 20 or so young people as "ambassadors" for climate change awareness, says the Guardian.

Jerry is better known as one half of Ben & Jerry, makers of expensive ice creams with funny names and chunky bits of cake and candy. Jerry and Ben Cohen sold the company to the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever in 1999.

The two remain involved with the company, mainly with promoting its social and environmental causes, of which the Ben & Jerry's Climate Change College is a part.

The college is a three-year initiative that will offer six people between the ages of 18 and 25 in the UK and the Netherlands the chance to learn about climate change through workshops, internships and a visit to the polar region.

Jerry hopes they will then use that training, and the resources of the World Wildlife Federation and Ben & Jerry's, to raise awareness about climate change.

May 6 , 2005

Bowhead whaling tragedy stuns Bering Strait community

SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE

The St. Lawrence Island village of Gambell, population 650, was grieving last week after four residents, including two children and the mayor, died when their skin-covered whaling boat capsized while helping tow home a bowhead in the overnight darkness.

Two other crewmen survived.

"It's a tragic day for Gambell," whaler Merlin Koonooka told the Anchorage Daily News by telephone. "The whole village is in kind of a shock right now."

Mayor Jason Nowpakahok, 38, along with his 11-year-old daughter, Yolanda Nowpakahok, and his 11-year-old nephew, Leonard Nowpakahok died.

The loss of the whalers raises the need for more awareness about marine safety.

Alaska's "Kids Don't Float" project, which provides life jackets and educational materials, established programs in Gambell and neighboring Savoonga last year.

But whalers object to using the flotation devices. Some models are too heavy, especially when worn under or over the thick clothing needed to keep warm on a whale hunt. The better ones cost hundreds of dollars, an expense borne by the captains of each crew. And many are simply the wrong color and could scare off whales.

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