At the opening of Tether there was a gallery for youth to write poems and design beautiful art around the topic of climate change. Walking down this hall you got to experience how the youth felt about the subject. Seeing their work made me realize that they’re the generation that will have to suffer from decisions made in the past, decisions that we are making today. They have to find a solution for a huge problem that isn’t being acknowledged or solved by the people who caused it. 

My favourite piece in this gallery was a wall filled with poems, written pieces, pictures, and drawings representing their strong feelings about climate change. Just looking at this wall from afar you can see the pain and worry the youth are burdened with. It makes you think about how important it is that we change our actions now so future generations can still enjoy their land and everything it has to offer. Coming from Tuktoyaktuk, NT, a place where the ground is literally fading away from beneath us, makes me appreciate that these art pieces are just one of the ways the youth are trying to make their voices heard and it’s more important than ever for us to listen to the stories of our Northern artists.  

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.