EARLY AUTUMN NEWS

Best of early Autumn from Snowchange Cooperative.
The season looks to be very busy with a lot of community and research work.
First of, three teams of Snowchange researchers have visited the remote
wilderness communities of Kanevka, Sosnovka (coast) and Krasnochelye
around the Ponoi watershed, Murmansk region, Russia between June and
August. The purpose of these visits is to bring knowledge back home and
inform all residents about the collaborative management plan regarding
Ponoi and re-contact the subsistence fishermen and other people. All trips
have been successful. Some new interviews and new scientific materials
have been reviewed and results of this Nordic Council of
Ministers-sponsored work will be released over the winter online here.

Similarly, work on the Neiden – Näätämö watershed has proceeded. Water
levels are very low and new oral history documentation has been carried
out May-August 2013 along Neiden. An extensive community visit will be
made between 12th September – 16th September to Sevettijärvi and adjacent
communities. This work has been made possible by the Nordic Council of
Ministers and United Nations University  and IPCCA.

Snowchange welcomes old friends back! Co-inciding with this community
event the long-standing partners of Snowchange, Indigenous Australians
Victor Steffensen and Che Stow will visit Finland and the Saami areas in
mid-September. The community tour begins in Selkie, North Karelia,
continues to Ivalo – Inari, Sevettijärvi, Unjárga, Norway, Utsjoki and
then to Vuotso and Vaasa in Finland. Presentations about traditional
knowledge revitalisation work and narrative therapy methods in community
work will be carried out.

It is the Sámi who own this land – Sacred Landscapes and Oral Histories of
the Jokkmokk Sámi is the title of the major Sámi publication, with
summaries in Sámi, Swedish and Finnish, to be released on 19th October
2013 in Ájtte, Jokkmokk, Sweden. A review of over 30 scientific papers and
publications as well as over 20 oral history interviews with Sámi produces
a book that has not been released from the region before. Look here for
major news in mid- to late September on the release.

In Siberia major presentation of solar electrification of nomadic camps in
Kolyma was given in June 2013 leading to extensive negotiations with
domestic and international funders to expand this work. Results of these
talks are expected towards Autumn.

In June Snowchange reconnected with the Inuvialuit people in NWT, Canada.
The Inuvialuit are a long-term partner with Snowchange and have shared
over the summer extensive materials on co-management regarding Neiden
river. We are extremely thankful for this support.

Domestically the Jukajoki Restoration work proceeds. The 120-hectare
man-made wetland unit by VAPO is working well and has attracted several
uncommon species, such as Terek Sandpiper. Recent updates of birds are
available here in Finnish.

A scholarly paper appeared in AMBIO regarding Jukajoki, titled ” Power
Discourses of Fish Death: Case of Linnunsuo Peat Production” (DOI
10.1007/s13280-013-0425-3).

Application to the EU LIFE + funding scheme was submitted on 25th June and
we await for news.

Between June and August negotiations and communication attempts between
two major mining companies, the European Uranium Resources in Canada and
the Western Lands LTD were initiated. Both of these companies will affect
the watershed and connected Pielisjoki with their proposed activities.
The model of village-initiated watershed restoration work was presented in
late May in Uurainen, Central Finland and led to a new restoration plan in
Kuivasjärvi watershed in Satakunta, Finland.

In media, a major newsstory appeared in August in OCCUPY NEWS available here.

In the early Summer, Professor Ari Lehtinen and Tero Mustonen authored a
scholarly article, titled ”Arctic Earthviews: Cyclic Passing of
Knowledge among the Indigenous Communities of the Eurasian North”
(doi:10.3167/sib.2013.120102) that appeared in the journal “Sibirica”. It
features several of the documented oral histories from the Kolyma,
Siberia, Russia.

With that, best of early Autumn to all and take contact if questions!
Tero

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