Alaska Indigenous Research Program 2025

The Fourth International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV) process is a multi-year process coordinated by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) to bring together Arctic researchers, policy makers, residents, stakeholders, and rightsholders broaden and deepen exchange of expertise and discussion on the state of Arctic science, relevant global affairs, knowledge gaps, and research priorities. With various activities to gather input on Arctic research since 2022, the process culminated in an international summit in Boulder, Colorado, USA in March 2025.

After presenting at the ICARP IV summit, Charleen Fisher organized this session to reflect on the importance of participating in this planning process to help centre Indigenous priorities and expertise in Arctic research. The speakers explained the ICARP IV process, as well as key recommendations laid out in the Comprehensive Policy Brief to the EU Commission – Roadmap to Decolonial Arctic Research (Herrmann et al., 2023) and Towards Arctic Research Upholding Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: Recommendations for ICARP IV (Holmberg et al., 2024). These include topics around the importance of centering Indigenous voices and expertise, such as Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination, recommendations for funding structures and methodology for co-creative research in practice.

The following discussion focused on the implementation of the proposed changes, especially if there is a lack of resources, such as limited funding and timing to build new relationships with communities. Despite possible difficulties, there was great motivation among the participants to apply the suggestions in their research practice.