Gwich’in Steering Committee
“ALASKA & CANADA
PROTECTING THE COASTAL PLAIN”
3401 Airport Way, Suite 201
Fairbanks, Alaska USA 99709
907-458-8264
Fax: 907-457-8255
Gwich’in Steering Committee Recommits to Protecting the Coastal Plain, Appoints New Board Members and Transition Team
For Immediate Release
MAY 23, 2024
Fairbanks, AK — Today, the Gwich’in Steering Committee (GSC) is pleased to announce revitalized Board leadership, in anticipation of this summer’s Gwich’in Gathering on the homelands of the Danzhit Hanlaii Gwich’in in Circle, AK. In preparation for these events, and in support of the considerable efforts of the Danzhit Hanlaii, the unified Chiefs of the Gwich’in Nation have appointed new members to the GSC Board of Directors. These appointments are an effort to further strengthen GSC’s unified mission to protect Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit, the sacred place where life begins located in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, on behalf of the Gwich’in Nation of Alaska and Canada.
The GSC is pleased to announce the appointment of Kelly Fields, as Co-Chair for the United States side of the Gwich’in Steering Committee. The Gwich’in Steering Committee Board of Directors is composed of four (4) representative groups: (2) for the Gwich’in Chiefs in Alaska and the Yukon Flats (YFR) & Arctic Village region, two (2) representatives for the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) in the Yukon of Canada and two (2) representatives for the Gwich’in Tribal Council (GTC) of the Northwest Territories in Canada. Additionally, new board members for the GSC are as follows:
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Chief Raeann Garnett YFR
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Kelly Fields YFR
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Dr. Charlene Stern Arctic Village/Venetie
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Myrna Thunder Arctic Village/Venetie
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Shadara Greenand, GTC (Interim)
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Kyla Ross, GTC (Interim)
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Harold Frost II, VGFN (Interim)
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Christine Crayke, VGFN (Interim)
The new GSC Board has accepted the resignation effective May 17, 2024 of Bernadette Demientieff and thank her for her years of leadership at the GSC. Additionally, the GSC Board warmly welcomes the return and appointment of Dr. Peter Winsor, the former director of the Arctic Program of the World Wildlife Fund in the role of Interim Executive Director with Wilderness Assembly, based in Washington DC as Interim Director. Peter will be guiding the GSC through the hiring of a new Executive Director. Please join the Gwich’in Nation in welcoming the new Board of Directors of the Gwich’in Steering Committee and our new interim executive lead, Dr. Peter Winsor.
For further comment or questions, please contact Raeann Garnett at garnett.raeann@gmail.com. We look forward to strengthening our existing partnerships and expand our collective, unified effort to permanently protect Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit.