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Duane Smith, recently elected to his fourth term as president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, addresses delegates at the council's meeting in Inuvik, N.W.T., on Monday, July 21, 2014.Zoe Ho/The Canadian Press

Duane Smith has witnessed a significant shift in the relationship between the indigenous people of the Arctic and the governments of northern countries over the dozen years he has been President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

"There's much more understanding by the Arctic states, and hopefully by other states that are interested in becoming more active in the circumpolar Arctic, about who the Inuit are, what role we play, what rights we have," says Mr. Smith. He was acclaimed to a fourth term this week at the annual general meeting in Inuvik of the council that represents roughly 150,000 Inuit who live in the United States, Canada, Greenland and Russia.

Nations of the world are eyeing the economic potential of the region inside the Arctic circle – the fish, petroleum and precious metals and minerals that lie beneath what was once a frozen world are becoming tantalizingly more accessible as global warming opens water lanes. So it's not surprising that resource extraction – its opportunities and its potential fallout – dominates the agenda of the four-day conference of the ICC.

The Inuit are working hard to ensure that they are part of the resource equation on the lands and in the waters of their ancestors. At the same time, the climate change that is making resource development possible is also causing upheaval for northern communities and disruption to the traditional way of life.

"I don't think anybody is paying enough attention to the impacts and the effects that the Inuit and the residents and the communities of the Arctic are dealing with and experiencing because it's happening so rapidly," said Mr. Smith. "Some of the communities are having to deal with relocation – more so in Alaska – with permafrost slumpage, coastal erosion, changing ecosystems where certain wildlife species may be depleting or changing their migratory patterns."

That has had an impact on food security, he said. "We have a strong relationship to the ecosystem, to the land, so we need to make sure that's sustainable and able to provide us with our nutrition, from the country food, from the animals, marine or terrestrial, for our well-being."

There are also issues of poverty, crime and the inadequate delivery of health care in isolated communities.

But the Inuit also realize their economic well-being depends on spreading the word that their doors are open for business, said Mr. Smith.

"We're wanting to look at the potential opportunities ourselves so that a lot of the benefits from that (resource development) would remain to improve the lifestyle and the well-being of the Inuit and others that reside in the Arctic," he said. "We know there's already vast known reserves and others want to come and explore and see the potential for some of these other resources to consider potential development."

Countries must respect the Inuit role, said Mr. Smith. In Canada, where indigenous rights are constitutionally protected, that has not been an issue for many years, he said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave a video address on Monday to open the meeting of the circumpolar council. And Environment Minister Leona Aglukkak appeared in person to say her government "is putting in place the conditions to allow Inuit to shape their own destiny..."

More recently, other countries, including the United States, are also starting to work more closely with the ICC, said Mr. Smith.

"It's good to see," he said, "because the Arctic is evolving and we live up here so we need to develop these strong working relationships and respect each other."

Gloria Galloway is a parliamentary reporter in Ottawa.

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