Cynthia James

Bio

Cynthia is currently working as the Education Support Worker for the Ta’an Kwach’an Council in Whitehorse, Yukon. Ta’an Kwach’an is one of the two First Nation governments located in the Whitehorse area. Cynthia’s role is to provide Ta’an Kwach’an citizens and kindergarten to grade 12 students with educational tools and resources for a successful journey through their elementary and high school careers. Cynthia enjoys the fast paced variety of her position, and loves the interaction with the community and students.

Her involvement with climate change action and adaptation is purely at a ‘grassroots’ level and she applies her experiences gained from spending time on the land with her family.

Community
Cynthia was raised with her eight sisters and four brothers on the land in a cabin with no running water or electricity. She is a member of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation in the Yukon.

Issue of Investigation
As a recipient of the 2010 Jane Glassco Arctic Fellowship, Cynthia will look at climate change and adaptation policy development and the potential for an integrated, grassroots approach to more effectively address climate change and adaptation. To do so, she will be looking at climate change and adaptation from a values perspective and breaking it down into a self, family, and community approaches.