Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council

The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) is a multi-government advisory, advocacy, monitoring, and lobby group for protecting and cleaning up the Yukon River. It consists of 66 First Nations and tribes in Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia, living along the Yukon River.

Its vision is to "be able to drink water directly from the Yukon River." YRITWC receives its funding from both government agencies and private initiatives; it also accepts donations from members of the public.

History

The YRITWC was founded in 1997, Indigenous governments living within the watershed come together and pledged to collaborate to give to profer solutions to various environmental governing authority issues impacting the environmental quality of the River and its watershed. These groups from the Canadian Yukon Territory and British Columbia and the American state of Alaska signed a treaty called the ''Yukon River Watershed Inter-Tribal Accord'' which defined the purpose of the YRITWC and established a council. YRITWC is a multi-government advisory, advocacy, and monitoring group with a two-fold mission "to protect the environmental integrity of the River's watershed and to preserve the cultural vitality of the indigenous communities that are dependent upon and part of the watershed".Lawrence Duffy, La’Ona De Wilde, Katie Spellman, et al., “Resilience and Adaptation: Yukon River Watershed Contaminant Risk Indicators,” Scientifica, vol. 2018, Article ID 8421513, 12 pages, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8421513.

Programs

The Yukon River Inter-tribal council are focused on 5 main areas- mining, water quality, brownfields, solid waste and science. YRITWC promotes the use of indigenous traditional knowledge in explaining the science and in developing programs to combat the twin threats of climate change and environmental degradation in the Yukon River Basin.Nicole J. Wilson,
Indigenous water governance: Insights from the hydrosocial relations of the Koyukon Athabascan village of Ruby, Alaska,
Geoforum,
Volume 57,
2014,
Pages 1-11,
ISSN 0016-7185,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.08.005.

A new study has shown melting permafrost is changing the chemistry of the Yukon River, just one of many climate-related changes affecting the Yukon and beyond. This research led by scientists from the
USGS.
tested water samples collected from the Yukon and Tanana rivers over a period of thirty years. Results showed that melting and refreezing of upper layers of the permafrost cause ground water to percolate deeper into the soil and carry more materials into rivers. Tests show elevated level of minerals like calcium, magnesium and sulphates, though not necessarily harmful to humans but could possibly become a health hazard with time. Mercury, a powerful neurotoxin, is another substance that is being monitored because of its health effects.

References

External links

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Alaska Native organizations
Environmental organizations based in Alaska
First Nations organizations
First Nations in Yukon
Inuit in the United States
Inuit organizations
Non-profit organizations based in Fairbanks, Alaska
Yukon River
Watersheds of Alaska
International water associations
Watersheds of Canada
International environmental organizations
Canada–United States border
Water in North America
Indigenous organizations in Canada
Indigenous peoples and the environment
Paradiplomacy
1997 establishments in Alaska
1997 establishments in Canada
Indigenous organizations in British Columbia
Indigenous organizations in Yukon
Flood control in North America