Oxen Network

Oxen partners with a select group of travel companies, like-minded organizations, and communities who are inspired to do things differently. Together, we are working to establish a new standard for how tourism can operate in the Arctic.

Our approach is intentionally focused: we work with partners who are willing to engage deeply, invest meaningfully, and build relationships that extend beyond individual visits.

Oxen is not just a programmatic organization, we are building an operational platform for Inuit-led tourism development. Our role is to connect these elements into a functioning system, one that enables communities to participate more fully and benefit more meaningfully from tourism.

Our programs are the building blocks of this platform:

Community Ambassador Program
Inuit ambassadors join expedition voyages, sharing knowledge, building relationships, and creating pathways into the industry.

Community Engagement & Discovery Expeditions
We bring company representatives into communities to listen, learn, and co-design tourism experiences grounded in shared opportunities.

Local Mentorship & Capacity Building
We support individuals and communities in developing tourism skills, businesses, and long-term strategies.

These programs are designed not as one-offs, but as building blocks of a more integrated, community-centric tourism model.

Tourism is growing. Expectations are rising.

The choices made today will shape the road ahead.

We believe the future of Arctic tourism should be:
- Community-led
- Economically inclusive
- Culturally authentic
- Built on partnership, not transaction

This work is forward-looking-focused on building the systems, relationships, and capabilities that will define Arctic tourism for the next generation.

Oxen exists to help make that future real. integrated, community-led tourism model.

For decades, “sustainable tourism” has meant doing less harm.
We believe that’s not enough.

Equal tourism ensures communities have a true seat at the table: sharing voice, respect, and economic benefit. Regenerative tourism goes further, creating net positive outcomes for people and place.

Together, they redefine the role of travel:
From extraction > to partnership
From observation > to participation
From short-term visits > to long-term relationships

This is not a theory. It is a shift already underway, one that positions tourism as a tool for long-term prosperity, not just short-term transactions.

Oxen operates with a lean structure, but delivers outsized results.

Our work consistently demonstrates a high Social Return on Investment: modest funding translates into meaningful economic and social impact within Arctic communities.

Without structured Inuit-led participation, much of tourism’s economic value leaks outward. Oxen’s work is designed to reverse that, ensuring value is retained, expanded, and reinvested locally.
- Oxen has increased the local economic value of tourism by over 400% in participating communities.
- Oxen creates employment pathways for up to 40 Inuit per year.
- Oxen’s operating efficiency for key programs creates an investment to return ratio of 1:5, magnifying funding and creating meaningful results.

This is not efficiency for its own sake, it is proof that the right model works.

Oxen’s work is built on a simple belief: meaningful change happens through partnership.

We operate with a constructive, solutions-focused approach, working with communities, companies, and individuals to move the industry forward together.

We acknowledge that challenges exist. The Arctic tourism landscape is complex, and there is still much to improve. But we believe progress comes not from division, but from collaboration, shared responsibility, and a commitment to doing better over time.

Working with communities and companies to shape travel that feels real, respectful, and worth being part of.

Our work is not about creating talent or opportunity from scratch. It is about unlocking what already exists - connecting people, strengthening pathways, and enabling communities to fully participate in and shape the tourism economy emerging around us.

One of Oxen's three main areas of work is community engagement, this photo was taken during one of those visits (with a little team bonding mixed in 🤍)

Shoutout to Arc'teryx for the collaboration and for keeping our team geared up for the journey🤍

Qujanamiik/Qujanaq/Quana

Oxen Network is an Inuit-led initiative working across Nunavut and Greenland, building relationships between communities, the travel industry, and creative spaces. We bring people together community members, artists, entrepreneurs, and travel companies to create something more connected and intentional.

Our work is grounded in lived experience and long-term relationships, creating pathways for Inuit to lead, share, and shape what these spaces become, so that what is built reflects the voices, priorities, and realities of those of us who call this place home