Arctic Indigenous Peoples Research Articles

Insulin level, glycemia, insulin resistance and β-cell function in relation to the lifestyle of Arctic indigenous people. Are there conditions for diabetes and which type?

Modern studies suggest that lifestyle changes of the indigenous Arctic residents lead to the loss of the "adaptive polar type of metabolism", which is characterized by the intensification of protein metabolism, optimization of lipid metabolism, and minimization of carbohydrate metabolism at low insulin concentrations. How to survive the era of change? To assess insulinemia, glycemia, β-cell secretory activity, and insulin sensitivity in Arctic indigenous people in relation to their lifestyle. A cross-sectional study of a population of indigenous Arctic residents (Nenets, Komi) aged from 22 to 60 years was conducted. Insulin levels were studied in blood serum using ELISA, and glucose levels using the spectrophotometric method. Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and β-cell function (HOMA1-%β) indices were calculated. 397 people were examined; 89 (22%) of them were nomadic people (NP) and 44 (49%) were male. Another 308 (78%) were sedentary people (SP), and 69 (22%) were male. The insulin level was significantly lower in NP (6.0 [3.5-11.8] µU/ml) compared to SP (8.3 [4.6-13.1] µU/ml), p=0.006. There was no difference in glycemia (4.6 [4.2-5.0] in NP and 4.6 [4.1-5.2] in SP) between lifestyles.The HOMA-IR was significantly lower in NP (1.3 [0.7-2.4]) than in SP (1.8 [0.95-2.8]), p=0.013. IR-HOMA >2 units was 1.8 times more frequent in the SP than in NP, with adjusted for sex, age, and BMI OR=0.56; 95% CI: 0.33-0.96, p=0.034. The median HOMA1-%β was 128 [67-241] % in NP and 144 [93-236]% in SP with no significant differences between groups. The proportion of individuals with HOMA1-%β <48.9 was 17% in NP versus 5% in SP, p<0.001. The adjusted odds of having HOMA1-%β <48.9 in NP are 3.5 times higher than in SP; 95% CI: 1.56-7.92, p=0.002. Fifty-six cases of glycemia ≥5.6 mmol/l were identified: 13.5% in NP and 14.3% in SP. The ratio IR-HOMA >2/ HOMA1-%β <48.9/BMI was 1.8 units/45%/25.2 kg/m2 in NP and 3.0 units/88%/29.6 kg/m2 in SP. Maintaining a nomadic lifestyle helps keep lower insulin concentrations; at the same time, glycemic levels in the groups were similar. In the NP group, there was a high proportion of individuals with low β-cell secretory activity, predominantly men; in the SP group, more individuals were insulin-resistant. Analysis of cases of glycemia ≥5.6 mmol/l confirmed, that hyperglycemia in a nomadic lifestyle was associated with β-cell hypofunction and the absence of obesity; on the contrary, in a sedentary lifestyle, it was associated with increased insulin resistance and obesity.

Multi-Level Legal Protection of Traditional Knowledge of Arctic Indigenous Peoples: Decolonizing Knowledge Production for Sustainable Development

Multi-Level Legal Protection of Traditional Knowledge of Arctic Indigenous Peoples: Decolonizing Knowledge Production for Sustainable Development

Greenland Norse walrus exploitation deep into the Arctic.

Walrus ivory was a prized commodity in medieval Europe and was supplied by Norse intermediaries who expanded across the North Atlantic, establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland. However, the precise sources of the traded ivory have long remained unclear, raising important questions about the sustainability of commercial walrus harvesting, the extent to which Greenland Norse were able to continue mounting their own long-range hunting expeditions, and the degree to which they relied on trading ivory with the various Arctic Indigenous peoples that they were starting to encounter. We use high-resolution genomic sourcing methods to track walrus artifacts back to specific hunting grounds, demonstrating that Greenland Norse obtained ivory from High Arctic waters, especially the North Water Polynya, and possibly from the interior Canadian Arctic. These results substantially expand the assumed range of Greenland Norse ivory harvesting activities and support intriguing archaeological evidence for substantive interactions with Thule Inuit, plus possible encounters with Tuniit (Late Dorset Pre-Inuit).

The Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement and Arctic Indigenous peoples

The Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAOFA) is a unique treaty that deals with a unique scenario: in an area of the high seas where no fishing has ever taken place, it determines the conditions under which future fishing can commence. Another innovation for which the CAOFA is less well-known are various aspects relating to Arctic Indigenous peoples. This article examines Arctic Indigenous issues relating to the CAOFA and focuses in particular on the participation of Arctic Indigenous peoples in the negotiations on the CAOFA and subsequent meetings of the CAOFA, as well as the needs of, and impacts on, Arctic Indigenous peoples as considerations in decisions by the CAOFA’s Conference of the Parties (COP) on commercial and exploratory fishing.

Climate change, cultural continuity and ecological grief: Insights from the Sámi Homeland

Arctic regions are warming significantly faster than other parts of the globe, leading to changes in snow, ice and weather conditions, ecosystems and local cultures. These changes have brought worry and concern and triggered feelings of loss among Arctic Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Recently, research has started to address emotional and social dimensions of climate change, framed through the concept of ecological grief. In this study, we examine sociocultural impacts of climate change and expressions of ecological grief among members of reindeer herding communities in the Sámi Homeland in Finland. Results indicate that ecological grief is felt in connection to major environmental concerns in the area: changes in winter weather and extreme weather events, Atlantic salmon decline and land use changes, which all have cultural and social consequences. Our results indicate that ecological grief is strongly associated with ecological losses, but also with political decisions regarding natural resource governance.

Arctic Indigenous Peoples and International Law

Abstract Arctic Indigenous Peoples have, through their own persistence, advanced the development of the Western European legal norms in a system that once facilitated their colonisation. The fiftieth anniversary of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference took place in 2023. The occasion was marked with another Conference, this time in Ilulissat, Greenland. It was a moment to reflect on the achievements of Arctic Indigenous Peoples, to build upon the 1973 resolutions and to address contemporary challenges. The resultant Joint Statement addresses the need for enhanced engagement in the forums of international law, intergenerational justice, intersecting rights to wellbeing, land, water and natural resources, and to address the risks posed by climate change and colonialism.

The Nordic Countries Face a Colonial Reckoning

In recent years, all four Scandinavian countries have been urged to reckon with their histories of dominion over and injustices committed against Arctic Indigenous Peoples and Finnic-speaking minorities on their territories. Within the past six years, truth commissions and historical inquiries have been set up in all four. With a special focus on public history and different parts of the former Danish colonial realm, this article examines both the long-term and short-term histories of injustices in Scandinavia and Greenland, and how indigenous and minority representatives have pushed governments and parliaments to act.

Human Security of Inuit and Sámi in the 21st Century: The Canadian and Finnish Cases

In a changing territorial and geopolitical moment of the Arctic region, are the Indigenous Peoples Organizations heard at the regional level and are the Arctic states working to keep them safe and secure? To safeguard the human security of Arctic Indigenous peoples, Arctic states (and their governments) have to understand the needs and changes that are affecting their way of life as well as to be able to cooperate between them. In a comparative study of Canada’s and Finland’s Arctic policies—<em>Canada’s Arctic and Northern Policy Framework</em> (2019) and <em>Finland’s Strategy for Arctic Policy</em> (2021)—it is possible to identify the applicability of the human security approach, which is influenced by the truth and reconciliation process between Canada and Inuit and Finland and Sámi. This process is a main factor in having their human rights respected and their human security safeguarded, considering that the relation between the countries of the North and the South of the Arctic countries is a discovery of their diversity (linguistical and cultural) in the 21st century. In my perspective, and for a participative democracy to be applied as mentioned by the green political theory (following the views of scholars like Barry, Eckersley, and Goodin), states and governments need to be open and recognise the gaps identified by those communities and transnational organisations.

Arctic indigenous representation in national parliaments

ABSTRACT National parliaments in democracies are key arenas for political deliberation, national agenda setting, and public negotiation of interests. In addition – of course – they legislate and control the government. Accordingly, the ways that the interests of Indigenous people in the Arctic are represented in national parliaments are important for their current and future autonomy from the nation-state. Setting from the concept of representation as defined by Pitkin (1967), this article reviews the scholarly literature on the national parliamentary representation of Indigenous peoples in the Arctic. Doing so, it takes a first, comparative look at this topic, discusses the formal, descriptive, and substantive representation of Indigenous peoples in the Arctic, and asks if there is a certain Arctic model of Indigenous national representation. The review shows that none of the Arctic Indigenous peoples are formally represented in their national parliament as a demos, and descriptive Indigenous representation is rather low (except in the case of the Danish parliament). Additionally, although similar formal and informal institutions seem to influence the substantive representation of Indigenous interests it is not fitting to talk of a particular Arctic model of Indigenous national representation.

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION: WITH OR AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES?

Climate change and its negative consequences represent a common problem for all the people on Earth and are likely to become one of the most serious challenges that humankind faces. As such, mitigation measures and adaptation actions are of particular importance. Although often thought as the two sides of the same coin, the climate change mitigation and adaptation differ from each other, especially in the context of indigenous peoples. Therefore, the first part of the paper centres on the relation between climate change mitigation and adaptation and their consequences for indigenous communities. The newest international treaty on climate change, the Paris Agreement, establishes the global goal on adaptation, which should take into consideration vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems, and more importantly, should be based on and guided by the best available science and knowledge of indigenous peoples, often referred to as ‘traditional knowledge’. As such, the second part of the paper focuses on the adaptation methods guided by the traditional knowledge. Although examples include indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge from all over the globe, much attention is given to the Arctic Indigenous Peoples as, due to current speed of climate change, the Arctic is recognized as a global climate change hotspot. Although indigenous peoples have been living in their territories since the time immemorial, adapting their ways of life to the difficult weather and environmental conditions, with the current climate change happening so rapidly, their possibilities of adaptation are weakening and climate change renders them more vulnerable, altering their economic and cultural activities and threatening their very existence. However, the current rate of climate change is not the only factor impairing the indigenous peoples’ adaptive capacities. Therefore, the final part of the paper is aimed at presenting what the obstacles to the successful adaptation to climate change are and whether migration should be considered an adaptive action.

Old Sea, New Ice: sea ice geoengineering and indigenous rights in Arctic Ocean governance

ABSTRACTThis comprehensive paper explores the complex interplay between Arctic sea ice governance, geoengineering, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. It raises critical questions about the feasibility of regulating potential sea ice geoengineering initiatives while upholding Indigenous rights. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the paper investigates diverse perspectives on Arctic sea ice encompassing its roles in climate science, international law, and for Arctic Indigenous peoples, contributing to ongoing discussions on implementing Indigenous rights within Arctic governance and emerging climate technologies. As climate interventions are becoming a likely reality, the paper emphasises the imperative of integrating marine geoengineering responses to climate change into global ocean law and governance, with a specific focus on climate justice and the active involvement of Indigenous and local communities in the decision-making. Using analogies of resource exploitation, this paper also explores whether the conceptualisation of geo-engineered sea ice as a resource and looking at existing international legal frameworks governing resource extraction could enhance the effective implementation of Indigenous rights. The paper contends that there is an urgent need to develop an oceanic ethics component that considers Indigenous rights in the context of geoengineering, and advocates for nature-centric visions, Indigenous-led climate actions, and community-level marine resource management within international legal frameworks to strike a balance between the rights-based approach and emerging climate intervention technologies.

Human health risk model for microplastic exposure in the Arctic region

Microplastics enriched with carcinogens like heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and their derivatives are ubiquitous in Arctic waters. They contaminate the local land and sea-based food sources, which is a significant health hazard. It is thus imperative to assess the risk posed by them to the nearby communities, which primarily rely on locally available food sources to meet their energy requirements. This paper proposes a novel ecotoxicity model to assess the human health risk posed by microplastics. The region's geophysical and environmental conditions affecting human microplastic intake, along with the human physiological parameters influencing biotransformation, are incorporated into the developed causation model. It investigates the carcinogenic risk associated with microplastic intake in humans via ingestion in terms of incremental excess lifetime cancer risk (IELCR). The model first evaluates microplastic intake and then uses reactive metabolites produced due to the interaction of microplastics with xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes to assess cellular mutations that result in cancer. All these conditions are mapped in an Object-Oriented Bayesian Network (OOBN) framework to evaluate IELCR. The study will provide a vital tool for formulating better risk management strategies and policies in the Arctic region, especially concerning Arctic Indigenous peoples.

Влияние международного дискурса Индии на арктическую политику страны

Since the 20th century, international discourse has gradually become a hot topic in the study of political science and international relations, and its impact is especially important in new areas such as space, cyberspace and polar regions, where stable rules and governance system have not yet been developed. In this paper, the influence of international discourse is classified as verbal, structural, institutional and moral. Based on this classification, the increasing influence of India's international discourse on its Arctic policy through its verbal expression, national strength, institutional involvement, and sense of values is examined. The difficulty of developing a strategy in the Arctic is due to the fact that India is not an Arctic country, so there is a cautious attitude of the world community towards it. Northern countries believe that India can use the Arctic for additional natural resources or even political benefit. In addition, there is little coverage of Arctic policy in the Indian media and government activities. Therefore, due to the possible misunderstanding by the international community of India's involvement in the Arctic and the country's weak awareness of Arctic issues, its influence on the international Arctic discourse should be improved in several ways: government officials should participate more actively in international organizations (UN, Arctic Council); the media should fully cover the country's activities in addressing Arctic issues; academically, integration of research, creation of special educational programs should be required, etc. Last but not least, the interests of Arctic Indigenous peoples should be taken into account. The resolution of all these issues can enable India to strengthen its position in the Arctic and increase the country’s potential.

Protecting the Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ Livelihoods in the Face of Climate Change: The Potential of Regional Human Rights Law and the Law of the Sea

Abstract Climate change presents existential challenges for the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, which depend on vulnerable ecosystems prone to extreme weather phenomena. Of all indigenous communities, those living in the Arctic have been worst affected. This raises the question to what extent international law can be mobilized to address the endangered livelihoods of Arctic indigenous peoples in light of rapid changes in the Arctic environment. This article examines two dimensions of the protection of livelihoods: an internal one—i.e. legal entitlements over assets, land and income—and an external one—i.e. the living environment in the Arctic. In so doing, the article analyses the right to property under regional human rights law and rules on the protection of marine resources under the law of the sea. Reflecting on relevant jurisprudence, it shows that both legal areas could provide important elements of litigation strategies to address the human rights costs of climate change.

Americanizing the Scandinavian Super Underdog in Eighteen Film Remakes

Americanizing the Scandinavian Super Underdog in Eighteen Film Remakes

Introduction: Counter-stories from the Arctic Contact Zone

This special issue of Interventions presents essays from twelve scholars from the field of Arctic Humanities that collect, contextualize, and theorize micro-histories of encounters between Arctic Indigenous people or Arctic animals and European, Russian, and North American agents of empire in the long nineteenth century. In bringing out from Arctic archives Indigenous agencies, voices and aesthetic productions, animal presences and fates, the essays collected here contribute to ongoing academic efforts to decolonize knowledge on the region. This, in our case, means to (1) document the impact Euro-American and Russian imperialism had on human and animal life in the Arctic region; (2) foreground the knowledge, creative expressions, experience, resilience, and resistance of Indigenous individuals, peoples, and communities; and (3) expose the illusions of modern progress narratives (scientific, material, moral) that accompanied colonial ventures in the Arctic region. The Introduction to this special issue on “Counter-stories from the Arctic Contact Zone” presents a broad overview of the history of colonization in the areas of the Arctic (today’s Canada, Inuit Nunangat, Alaska, Kalaallit Nunaat [Greenland], Svalbard and Sápmi) that the essays address. It then sets the methodological framework for the essays through a discussion of postcolonial theory concerned with the politics of knowledge production and the possibilities and challenges of contrapuntal re-readings of the cultural archive. Central here is a discussion of how Mary Louise Pratt’s concept of the contact zone aids the discovery and documentation of counter-narratives that challenge and disrupt the colonialist meta-narratives that then supported empire and today continue to impact how dominant, capitalist cultures relate to, exploit, and extract from the Arctic region and its peoples.

Jus Pro Homine, Natura et Animalis: Dignifying the Right to Life of Arctic Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous theorists have developed the multi-spatio-temporal accounts of relationality among humans, natures, and animals. In the context of the Arctic, a holistic approach that integrates the indigenous peoples, frozen water, and polar animals is advocated to ensure identity, spirituality, and hydrosocial or cryosocial relations. Such an ontological approach gains importance as the life-threatening phenomenon of climate change is increasingly affecting every aspect of the relationality, happening faster in the Arctic than anywhere on the planet. The adverse effects of climate change on the lives of Arctic indigenous peoples living together with natures and animals pressure us to reconceptualize the meaning of life in constitutional and international law. This paper examines the recent trend to extend the right to life from physical existence to decent existence of indigenous peoples, natures, and animals. It particularly analyses the climate litigations filed by Arctic indigenous peoples, in which they tailor their legal arguments in line with the concept of a dignified life. The author argues that the ontological right to life with dignity not only remedies the vulnerable positions of Arctic indigenous peoples but also corroborates the resilience of their hydrosocial or cryosocial relations with natures and animals.

Shared Arctic Variable Framework Links Local to Global Observing System Priorities and Requirements

The geographic settings and interests of diverse groups of rights- and stakeholders figure prominently in the need for internationally coordinated Arctic observing systems. Global and regional observing systems exist to coordinate observations across sectors and national boundaries, leveraging limited resources into widely available observational data and information products. Observing system design and coordination approaches developed for more focused networks at mid- and low latitudes are not necessarily directly applicable in more complex Arctic settings. Requirements for the latter are more demanding because of a greater need for cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral prioritization and refinement from the local to the pan-Arctic scale, in order to maximize the use of resources in challenging environmental settings. Consideration of Arctic Indigenous Peoples’s observing priorities and needs has emerged as a core tenet of governance and coordination frameworks. We evaluate several different types of observing systems relative to the needs of the Arctic observing community and information users to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each framework. A typology of three approaches emerges from this assessment: “essential variable,” “station model,” and “central question.” We define and assess, against the requirements of Arctic settings, the concept of shared Arctic variables (SAVs) emerging from the Arctic Observing Summit 2020 and prior work by the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks Road Mapping Task Force. SAVs represent measurable phenomena or processes that are important enough to multiple communities and sectors to make the effort to coordinate observation efforts worthwhile. SAVs align with essential variables as defined, for example, by global observing frameworks, in that they guide coordinated observations across processes that are of interest to multiple sectors. SAVs are responsive to the information needs of Arctic Indigenous Peoples and draw on their capacity to codesign and comanage observing efforts. SAVs are also tailored to accommodate the logistical challenges of Arctic operations and address unique aspects of the Arctic environment, such as the central role of the cryosphere. Specific examples illustrate the flexibility of the SAV framework in reconciling different observational approaches and standards such that the strengths of global and regional observing programs can be adapted to the complex Arctic environment.

Indigenous hunting in the Russian Arctic: toward sustainable wildlife resource management

Arctic wildlife resource management must secure biodiversity without infringing on indigenous hunting rights. The article focuses on the bottlenecks in resource management of game species hunted by Arctic indigenous population. It is based on data collected by the author on subsistence and commercial hunting by indigenous peoples in several Russian Arctic regions and on the results of CAFF Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) projects on the assessment of hunting impact on Arctic migratory birds. Three main problems of Arctic game resource management are discussed: gapes in legislation related to the contradiction between the right of Arctic indigenous peoples to hunt without permission and the need to restrict hunting in order to maintain the balance of ecosystems; lack of reliable information on hunting resources, including both population numbers and harvest size; the practically total removal of hunters from the management of hunting resources. The Russian game resource management system in its current state does not meet the Arctic conditions. It needs to be revised towards official liberalization of indigenous hunting and more flexible game resource regulation considering interests of different groups of hunters.

Economic (in)dependence of Arctic indigenous peoples on the example of Greenlanders

Abstract Climate warming is causing ice in the circumpolar zones to melt, making it easier to access the natural resources there. It is not only individual states but also international corporations that are seeking to take control of these deposits. In the vast majority of cases, the indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic have little influence over the exploitation of the deposits. This is due to the economic and political superiority of the authorities of the countries they live in. Very frequently, even their autonomy is only apparent, and it concerns merely a few aspects of economic activity. It is only in the case of the Inuit living in Greenland that the situation is different. They have real control over their own territories. They have a wide autonomy within the Kingdom of Denmark and no option of Greenland gaining independence would be beneficial for them. The article constitutes an attempt to analyze the possibility of their economic independence.