The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) is a multi-government advisory, advocacy, monitoring, and

lobby group Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

for protecting and cleaning up the

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

. It consists of 66

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

and

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, 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 Yukon () is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s westernmost territory and the smallest ...

and

and the American state of

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

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

* {{authority control Alaska Native organizations Environmental organizations based in Alaska First Nations organizations in Canada First Nations in Yukon Inuit in the United States 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 of North America 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