Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Global to Grassroots:
Youth Leadership & Climate Justice
in the Arctic and Beyond

A talk with the Institute of Arctic Studies

Overview

Michaela Stith has traveled to all eight Arctic countries working in solidarity with Arctic Indigenous peoples’ climate change advocacy. She is the author of Welp: Climate Change and Arctic Identities, a travel memoir exploring the intersections of racism and climate change.

In her talk, Michaela Stith will discuss the ties between climate change, colonialism, and white supremacy, and how her experiences as a Black, mixed-race woman in Arctic spaces has informed how she approaches advocacy, activism, and organizing.

Speakers

Michaela Stith

Youth Justice Lead for Native Movement, and author of Welp: Climate Change and Arctic Identities

Michaela Stith's career in environmental science and policy began as a Duke University student, where she studied the impact of cruise ships in Iceland and Alaska. She became a Hart Leadership Fellow at the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat in Tromsø, Norway, where her work supported the Council's meaningful engagement of Indigenous peoples in multilateral diplomacy. Upon returning to the U.S.A., she organized dozens of events including the first-ever Arctic Youth Summit in Washington D.C. as an employee at the Wilson Center. Born and raised in Alaska, she since returned home and joined Native Movement to build grassroots power and youth leadership in pursuit of climate justice.

Selected Quotes

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