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Contribution short abstract:

This contribution adds to broader discussions on how Arctic and sub-Arctic communities reimagine commoning practices and egalitarian relations amidst extractivist pressures, highlighting the critical role of cultural and narrative practices in fostering resilience and self-determination.

Contribution long abstract:

This paper explores the intersections of commoning practices, egalitarian relations, and Indigenous resurgence in the Yukon Territory, with a focus on the First Nation of Nacho Nyäk Dun. Drawing from my dissertation research, I examine how Indigenous planning, cultural revitalization, and narrative reinhabitation are mobilized as responses to extractivism and ongoing colonial pressures. The long history of mining in the Yukon, marked by disruptions to Indigenous governance, resource management, and social relations, provides the backdrop for this study. Through a decolonizing, community-based participatory research approach, I analyze the ways in which Yukon First Nations navigate and resist extractivist narratives and practices. Key findings include the role of Elders' oral histories in complicating glossed-over narratives of mining history and contemporary operations, the visions of Indigenous youth for equitable futures, and the participatory planning processes for cultural infrastructure, such as the planned Northern Tutchone cultural centre. These processes exemplify efforts to reimagine governance and activism through Indigenous-led frameworks of collective responsibility and shared decision-making. The concept of narrative reinhabitation emerges as central to these practices, intertwining oral histories, language revitalization, and the built environment to restore Indigenous homelands and challenge dominant resource imaginaries. This paper contributes to broader discussions on how Arctic and sub-Arctic communities reimagine commoning practices and egalitarian relations amidst extractivist pressures, highlighting the critical role of cultural and narrative practices in fostering resilience and self-determination.