The tribal leaders who run the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (www.yritwc.org) are celebrating their 10th year of the 50 year mission. The mission is simple: to drink from the Yukon River. To reach that goal, they have assumed major responsibilities for sample, monitoring and training on water quality from both the US Geological Survey and the US Environmental Protection Agency. A result of their mission and mandate, they have reinvigorated regional dialogs based on millennia-tested tribal protocols that have proven both culturally sensitive and effective. Beginning June of this year, after the ISDE5, the Yukon tribes will embark on a Healing Journey down the Yukon River to continue with the bi-annual village dialogs. As each village is engaged, it is proposed to debut each village as a unique site using Digital Earth technology. The Healing Journey will celebrate in mid-August at Saint Mary’s, Alaska, near the terminus of the river. Yukon tribal chiefs will be in Berkeley at the ISDE5 to share their experiences in using modern technologies for stewardship of their river.
