Arctic Peoples Research Articles

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.

To “Lure On the Gentle Reader”

Abstract While historical depictions of gender and sexuality propagated by outsiders continue to resonate through contemporary representations of Arctic peoples, researchers have only now begun to unpack these persistent ideas and their role in shaping current struggles for access, inclusion, and equality. This article aims to contribute to this growing discussion by examining the depictions of Greenlandic women and sexuality in Rockwell Kent's Salamina (1935). Drawing on a sensationalism that has long been a fixture of Arctic accounts and later media, Kent described Greenlandic women as childlike and highly sexual but still knowable, reinforcing existing hierarchies of power built on constructions of gender and race. This article interrogates the artist's depiction of Greenlandic women and its relation to broader representation of Indigenous peoples in the Arctic.

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.

U.S.-China Arctic Cooperation in a New Era of Great Power Competition: Opportunities and Challenges

This article examines the current opportunities for and constraints on the U.S.-China cooperation in the Arctic. It argues that, despite ongoing tensions between the United States and China on many issues, there are numerous concrete opportunities for the two countries to develop dialogue and cooperation concerning the Arctic and Arctic Peoples. To substantiate this argument and enrich the existing literature on U.S.-China relations in the Arctic, this article focuses on three issue areas where the two powers could develop trust and cooperation: (1) the freedom of navigation in the Arctic Ocean, (2) the implementation of new science-based Arctic treaties, and (3) Alaska-China economic relations. Given the current state of U.S.-China relations, this article advocates a bottom-to-top approach based on the concept and practice of science diplomacy to facilitate the development of U.S.-China Arctic cooperation.

Bayesian inference of admixture graphs on Native American and Arctic populations.

Admixture graphs are mathematical structures that describe the ancestry of populations in terms of divergence and merging (admixing) of ancestral populations as a graph. An admixture graph consists of a graph topology, branch lengths, and admixture proportions. The branch lengths and admixture proportions can be estimated using numerous numerical optimization methods, but inferring the topology involves a combinatorial search for which no polynomial algorithm is known. In this paper, we present a reversible jump MCMC algorithm for sampling high-probability admixture graphs and show that this approach works well both as a heuristic search for a single best-fitting graph and for summarizing shared features extracted from posterior samples of graphs. We apply the method to 11 Native American and Siberian populations and exploit the shared structure of high-probability graphs to characterize the relationship between Saqqaq, Inuit, Koryaks, and Athabascans. Our analyses show that the Saqqaq is not a good proxy for the previously identified gene flow from Arctic people into the Na-Dene speaking Athabascans.

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.

Participatory action research with Inuit societies: A scoping review

Abstract Participatory methods have become essential for research with Indigenous Arctic peoples. To understand how researchers use such methods, we conducted a scoping review of participatory action research (PAR)—a classic qualitative methodology—with Inuit communities. Although other systematic reviews exist on participatory methodologies in the Arctic, our scoping review is the only one focusing only on the Inuit. We reviewed 11 empirical studies published between 2000 and 2019 in peer-reviewed journals. Most of them had been conducted with Canadian Inuit. Although the authors came from a variety of disciplines, the studies were mostly about the health and well-being of Inuit communities. The authors did not use the same definition of PAR, but their definitions did share some key components: Inuit participation, Inuit engagement and a goal of social change. There were also a variety of methodologies of research and forms of Inuit participation, although the photovoice method was frequent. Scoping reviews are most often used in the natural sciences. This one was a challenge because we were using it in the social sciences and because it concerned PAR, an approach with different definitions and uses. A remaining question is how to assess such a method, either by peers or by other stakeholders.

Полиморфизм локуса rs4264393 гена PRDM7 в популяциях коренного населения Сибири: возможная связь с особенностями пигментации кожи в условиях Крайнего Севера

The rs4264393-G allele of the PRDM7 gene belongs to the polymorphic variants very frequent only in indigenous populations of northeastern Siberia: in Eskimos, Chukchi, and Koryaks, its frequency is 64 %. The results of the paleogenomic data analysis suggest that the rs4264393-G variant was present in the north of modern Yakutia (Duvannyi Yar site) about 10 thousand years ago and probably appeared in Northeast Asia even earlier, during the presumed migrations of East Asian populations (20-18 thousand years ago), which mixed with the Upper Paleolithic groups of North Siberia and gave rise to the ancestors of Paleosiberian populations and Amerindians. The PRDM7 gene encodes for a methyltransferase, involved in histone modification, and appears to be an active regulator of gene activity in melanocytes. The findings are discussed in connection with the peculiarities of Eskimo and Paleo-Asiatic skin pigmentation and the possibility that the rs4264393-G variant of the PRDM7 gene may be involved in the evolution of the Arctic peoples pigmentation system.

IDENTITY AND LANGUAGE IN AN ARCTIC CITY: THE CASE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN DUDINKA

In our study, we explore the identity constructions of indigenous peoples living in Arctic urban environment. The choice of topic is justified by the fact that studies of indigenous peoples living in urban settings in the Arctic have focused on cities outside of the Russian Arctic. The purpose of this article is to provide a contemporary overview of Arctic urban indigenous peoples in terms of their identity and language use. Important issues are urbanization processes and the position of indigenous peoples in the Arctic. Comparing the eight Arctic countries, the largest gaps in research on northern urban communities can be found in the Russian Federation. The migration of ethnic minorities to urban settlements has been particularly rapid under the conditions of globalization and industrialization. It should be emphasized that moving to the city may be one of the appropriate ways for these minorities to survive in Siberia. In the urban settlements surveyed, ethnic groups are trying to establish their own minority organizations and groups to preserve minority culture, language, and identity. The starting point of the study is the activities of the organizations, the current multifaceted language situation, patterns of language use, and the study of language attitudes specific to these urban minorities. In this article, we analyze the current situation of indigenous peoples in Dudinka in light of the research questions. The findings are based on recent literature and field research conducted in 2008, 2016, and 2019. We conclude by saying that although the language is disappearing, its value remains important to the community. We also think it is important to investigate the city in terms of language use because, contrary to previous expectations, urbanization does not simply mean the disappearance of small languages. On the one hand, new, highly efficient and independent scenes of language use are opening, and on the other hand, the decline in language use is not at all accompanied by a decline in language prestige, which can also be a justification for revitalization. In addition to language, other elements of identity become important.

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.

International Legal Issues of Preventing Unregulated Fishing in the Arctic

INTRODUCTION. At various times, the sustainable use of marine living resources in the high seas outside exclusive economic zones, as well as in areas under the jurisdiction of Arctic coastal states, has been severely damaged by illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. As the climate warms, the threat of unregulated fishing has also emerged on the high seas in the Central Arctic Ocean. As a result of multi-round negotiations on October 3, 2018 in Ilullissat (Greenland, Denmark) in the so-called «five plus five» format – representatives of five Arctic and four non-Arctic states, as well as the European Union, the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean was signed. This new international legal document reflects national interests in the optimal use of marine living resources of the Arctic states, the Arctic indigenous peoples and residents, as well as interested states. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The article shows the evolution of international legal instruments to prevent illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in the high seas. Particular attention is paid to the study of normative and doctrinal materials revealing the treaty practice of states in the Arctic enclaves. The legal interpretation of the provisions of the 2018 Agreement is also given. In the study the authors used historical, comparative-legal and some other general scientific and special legal methods. RESEARCH RESULTS. From an international perspective, the 2018 Agreement is an innovative legal document that reflects the interests of not only the Arctic states but also non-Arctic states. Despite concerns about the participation of the latter (China, in particular)on the part of Western states, the Agreement was nevertheless signed and ratified before possible commercial fishing on the high seas in the Central Arctic Ocean starts. This would prevent illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in advance and thus prevent the depletion of marine living resources in this part of the Arctic Ocean, unlike it happened in other enclaves of the high seas in the Northern Hemisphere. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. The entry into force of the 2018 Agreement marked the beginning of cooperation among interested states in prevention of unregulated high seas fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean. Besides the general purpose of the Agreement, scientific cooperation between the Parties will contribute to better understandingof the least-explored area of the high seas. It is likely that the environmental cooperation in the Central Arctic Ocean will expand considerably in the future.

The Problem of Vitamin D Scarcity: Cultural and Genetic Solutions by Indigenous Arctic and Tropical Peoples

Vitamin D metabolism differs among human populations because our species has adapted to different natural and cultural environments. Two environments are particularly difficult for the production of vitamin D by the skin: the Arctic, where the skin receives little solar UVB over the year; and the Tropics, where the skin is highly melanized and blocks UVB. In both cases, natural selection has favored the survival of those individuals who use vitamin D more efficiently or have some kind of workaround that ensures sufficient uptake of calcium and other essential minerals from food passing through the intestines. Vitamin D scarcity has either cultural or genetic solutions. Cultural solutions include consumption of meat in a raw or boiled state and extended breastfeeding of children. Genetic solutions include higher uptake of calcium from the intestines, higher rate of conversion of vitamin D to its most active form, stronger binding of vitamin D to carrier proteins in the bloodstream, and greater use of alternative metabolic pathways for calcium uptake. Because their bodies use vitamin D more sparingly, indigenous Arctic and Tropical peoples can be misdiagnosed with vitamin D deficiency and wrongly prescribed dietary supplements that may push their vitamin D level over the threshold of toxicity.

Framing co-productive conservation in partnership with Arctic Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous communities at the front lines of climate change and biodiversity loss are increasingly shaping the conservation of lands, waters, and species. The Arctic is a hotbed for emerging local, national, and international conservation efforts, and researchers, managers, and communities alike will benefit from a framework that improves approaches to Indigenous partnerships. Co-productive conservation is a framework that encompasses both the co-production of knowledge and the co-production of public services to pursue ethically conscious, culturally relevant, and fully knowledge-based approaches to biodiversity concerns. Co-productive conservation recognizes that conservation can be practiced in a way that embodies Indigenous perspectives, knowledge, rights, priorities, and livelihoods. Six iterative and reflexive co-production processes (i.e., co-planning, co-prioritizing, co-learning, co-managing, co-delivering, and co-assessing) focus on the human dimensions that allow research, management, and conservation to affect change. By opening discussions on how to structure conservation efforts in partnership with Indigenous communities, the conservation community can move away from narratives that perceive Indigenous participation as an obligation or part of an ethical narrative and instead embrace a process that broadens the evidence base and situates conservation within Indigenous contexts.

Contributions and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples to the study of mercury in the Arctic

Arctic Indigenous Peoples are among the most exposed humans when it comes to foodborne mercury (Hg). In response, Hg monitoring and research have been on-going in the circumpolar Arctic since about 1991; this work has been mainly possible through the involvement of Arctic Indigenous Peoples. The present overview was initially conducted in the context of a broader assessment of Hg research organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. This article provides examples of Indigenous Peoples' contributions to Hg monitoring and research in the Arctic, and discusses approaches that could be used, and improved upon, when carrying out future activities. Over 40 mercury projects conducted with/by Indigenous Peoples are identified for different circumpolar regions including the U.S., Canada, Greenland, Sweden, Finland, and Russia as well as instances where Indigenous Knowledge contributed to the understanding of Hg contamination in the Arctic. Perspectives and visions of future Hg research as well as recommendations are presented. The establishment of collaborative processes and partnership/co-production approaches with scientists and Indigenous Peoples, using good communication practices and transparency in research activities, are key to the success of research and monitoring activities in the Arctic. Sustainable funding for community-driven monitoring and research programs in Arctic countries would be beneficial and assist in developing more research/monitoring capacity and would promote a more holistic approach to understanding Hg in the Arctic. These activities should be well connected to circumpolar/international initiatives to ensure broader availability of the information and uptake in policy development.

PFAS and PBDEs in traditional subsistence foods from Sivuqaq, Alaska.

The Arctic is a hemispheric sink for both legacy and current use persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Once in the Arctic, POPs biomagnify in food webs, potentially reaching concentrations in high trophic level animals that pose a health concern for people who subsist on those animals. Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic may be highly exposed to POPs through their traditional diets. The objective of this study was to assess concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in tissues of traditionally harvested foods from Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island), Alaska. Community health researchers identified volunteer households and local hunters to donate tissues from traditionally harvested animals. Target species included bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), ringed seal (Pusa hispida), bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata), spotted seal (Phoca largha), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). PBDEs were frequently detected in all species and tissues. PBDE concentrations tended to be highest in lipid-rich tissues of seals. PFAS were infrequently detected and did not show obvious patterns among species or tissues. This and other studies demonstrate that POPs such as PBDEs are present in tissues of traditional food animals from Sivuqaq, as they are throughout the Arctic, and consumption of these animals likely contributes to exposure among Arctic Indigenous Peoples.

Axiological Foundations of Eco-Spiritual Values of Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic

Covering one sixth of the planet's surface and experiencing global climate change, the Arctic is a place where indigenous peoples' lifestyles, eco-spiritual values and unique flora and fauna species are reproduced. Planetary humanitarian thought centres around the Arctic Ocean, metaphorically referred to as the modern Mediterranean. The challenge is to recognise the spiritual and intellectual heritage of Arctic indigenous peoples in the modern development of Arctic resources and to introduce their eco-spiritual values into the educational process. Ecospiritual values are based on a worldview that recognises the spiritual interconnectedness of man and nature, and promotes the sustainability of the ecosystem in all its diversity of natural and human spheres. The aim of our study is to identify and reveal the axiological foundations of the ecospiritual values of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic that are significant for intercultural and intercountry communication in the northern circumpolar zone of the planet. The work uses Indigenous Methodology, the method of system analysis and synthesis, and empirical research in the Khatango-Anabar region was carried out using a combination of quantitative and qualitative sociological methods (standardised questionnaire survey, non-formalised interview, psycholinguistic experiment). Ecospiritual values have been identified, based on the ethno-cultural model of the relationship with Mother Earth, co-synchrony with natural and climatic features and co-spatiality of ecospiritual connections in the habitat, geopsychic and spiritual connections with sacred places, where there is inter-conjunction of cosmic, earthly and natural phenomena with ecospiritual values of man.

Histologic and Genotypic Characterization of Lung Cancer in the Inuit Population of the Eastern Canadian Arctic.

Inuit are the Indigenous Arctic peoples and residents of the Canadian territory of Nunavut who have the highest global rate of lung cancer. Given lung cancer’s mortality, histological and genomic characterization was undertaken to better understand the disease biology. We retrospectively studied all Inuit cases from Nunavut’s Qikiqtani (Baffin) region, referred to the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Center between 2001 and 2011. Demographics were compiled from medical records and tumor samples underwent pathologic/histologic confirmation. Tumors were analyzed by next generation sequencing (NGS) with a cancer hotspot mutation panel. Of 98 patients, the median age was 66 years and 61% were male. Tobacco use was reported in 87%, and 69% had a history of lung disease (tuberculosis or other). Histological types were: non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), 81%; small cell lung carcinoma, 16%. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) represented 65% of NSCLC. NGS on 55 samples demonstrated mutation rates similar to public lung cancer datasets. In SCC, the STK11 F354L mutation was observed at higher frequency than previously reported. This is the first study to characterize the histologic/genomic profiles of lung cancer in this population. A high incidence of SCC, and an elevated rate of STK11 mutations distinguishes this group from the North American population.

Colonisation at the Poles: A Story of Ineffective Occupation

Abstract This paper examines the legal concept of occupation of territory and its historic application to the Polar regions, to disclose the fallacies at the heart of the colonial projects at both Poles. It also considers how the increasing recognition of non-use value disrupts positivist accounts of occupation. The colonisation of populated lands was justified by European theories of property that insisted that effective occupation required both a psychological and a physical element. The psychological element of occupation requires the sovereign to engage in a legal fiction that it controls the land and exercises dominion over it but this conceit is not shared by Arctic Indigenous Peoples. The physical element of occupation according to the positivist account requires an owner or sovereign to transform the land in some physical manner. The self-serving European legal theories construed the Indigenous relationship with land as a non-relationship and declared it retrospectively terra nullius. According to their own laws, the colonisers declared their own sovereign authority over Indigenous territories, notwithstanding the existing civilisations. However, in the Polar regions, the colonisers themselves did very little in the way of physical occupation or transformation of the vast majority of the lands that they claimed. Colonisers demonstrated occupation through the naming of places, mapping, taking resources, building basic structures for shelter, and applying laws over their own people. But Indigenous Peoples had long been doing all those things in the Arctic. 20th century courts accepted that in territories remote from the colonising claimant with little or no population, the degree of physical occupation and exercise of jurisdiction could be very limited. However, they refused to consider the much longer and more extensive use and management by Indigenous Peoples. In the Antarctic, the territorial claims of the seven claimant states do not pivot on any real physical occupation or transformation of the land at all. This would have been impossible on any scale of significance, given the size and challenging climate of the continent at the time of European discovery. Today, the principles that govern the Antarctic continent favour non-use and a minimisation of impacts. At both Poles, justifications for the exercise of jurisdiction are increasingly based on promises to protect wilderness by minimising human impacts. Sovereignty is demonstrated through non-occupation in a complete reversal of the classical legal theory.