NNA-CO Learn & Connect Series: Dinayetr – Our Breath, Our Belief System: A Guide for Caring for Ourselves and Our Communities
November 13, 2025 | 10:00-11:00am AKT / 12:00-1:00pm MT / 2:00-3:00pm ET
How can we create communities of care that sustain both ourselves and those around us? This workshop invites participants to explore Indigenous wisdom, healing-centered engagement, and practices that foster resilience, belonging, and connection.
Drawing on the knowledge of Elders and ancestral teachings, we will reflect on how stress, trauma, and the pace of modern life affect our ability to learn, connect, and thrive. Together, we’ll discuss strategies to move from reactivity to proactive care, and how organizations and communities can reimagine spaces where people not only survive, but flourish.
Presenter: Dr. LaVerne Xilegg Demientieff (Deg Xit’an [Dene])
This session will highlight:
- Indigenous approaches to climate adaptation and community care
- The impacts of stress and trauma on learning, relationships, and wellbeing
- Healing-centered practices for creating belonging and connection
- Resources and strategies to strengthen a culture of care in organizations and communities
As one Yupik Elder reminds us, “Learning is healing—as we expand our knowledge of the world, we also learn about ourselves, we grow and heal.” Join us to explore how ancestral wisdom and contemporary practice can guide us in building communities rooted in care, resilience, and shared responsibility. Register here.
AGU Session: ED13A - Arctic Education and Outreach: Effective Ways of Engaging Diverse Learners in Arctic Science II Oral
December 15, 2025 | 2:15-3:45 CT, 346-347 (New Orleans Convention Center)
The changing polar environments have created important scientific and societal concerns in high and lower latitudes. In this session, we will share effective approaches, frameworks and examples of how to promote a broad understanding and awareness of the changing Arctic and the related societal implications. The session will highlight effective strategies to inspire learners in both formal and informal learning contexts as well as communities. We also invite papers on effective ways of community engagement, co-design of educational and outreach activities, and fostering intergenerational or cross-cultural learning through Arctic Indigenous knowledge, science, and observation.
AGU Session: C33A - Convergence Research in the Arctic: Drawing from Diverse Disciplines and Knowledge Systems to Address Complex Societal Challenges I Oral
December 17, 2025 | 2:15-3:45pm CT, 214 (New Orleans Convention Center)
The Arctic region, alongside transforming demographic, economic, and security conditions, is confronting accelerated climate and ecological changes. Arctic research has increasingly adopted convergence approaches that bring together academically-trained knowledge systems, Indigenous knowledges, and practitioner expertise to more holistically understand the interconnectedness of nature, social systems, and the human-built environment. Convergence research demands reciprocal and trust-building collaborations while advancing adaptation, mitigation, and resilience. At the same time, Arctic Indigenous Peoples have raised concerns about inequitable research practices within projects that seek their involvement. These critiques have prompted reflection and shifts in practice regarding how research is conceived, conducted, and communicated. Across the Arctic, numerous projects and institutions are at various stages of implementing more just research practice while improving actionable research. This session invites abstracts that share lessons from convergence research in the Arctic and highlight how building diverse research collaborations strengthens the application of scientific results toward addressing societal challenges.
NNA Community Meeting at ASSW 2026
Exact date & time TBD | Aarhus, Denmark
The NNA-CO plans to host an NNA community meeting at Arctic Summit Science Week (ASSW) 2026, which will take place from March 25-April 1, 2026 in Aarhus, Denmark. More details to come.
2026 NNA Annual Community Meeting
September 15-17, 2026 | Fairbanks, AK
The 2026 NNA Annual Community Meeting will be held in Fairbanks, Alaska during September 15-17, 2026. Please check back soon for more details as the specific venue and other details are confirmed.