Coming together to celebrate Arctic arts has already been an inspiring experience. Not only have we arrived in a stunning place, but we have also already had the privilege to have a sneak peek of what the Yukon artistic community has to offer. 

Storytelling, whether it is through discussions on a panel, a live performance, or a film screening, creates a space for Indigenous voices to be heard and shared. It creates a lens for us to share our unique worldviews and to better understand other people’s perspectives. This is what I most look forward to in the coming days of the Arctic Arts Summit: sharing stories and learning more about one another. I think we will find more similarities than differences. 

The Arctic Arts Summit is being held on the traditional and ancestral territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council in Whitehorse. It amazes me that many people, nations and cultural groups can come together and find common ground through art. I am grateful to be here and look forward to listening, seeing and taking in different perspectives from all that have gathered here. Katikpugut. 

The Arctic Arts Summit’s Knowledge Creators Next program brings together northern Indigenous post-secondary students, young activists and emerging professionals to attend the Summit. Participants in the Knowledge Creators Next (KCN) program will be sharing their daily reflections—in the form of tweets, photographs, poems, sketches, videos or other short responses—on the Arctic Arts Summit’s digital platform and across social media.