Introduced by Erica Dingman Twenty years since the signing of the Ottawa Declaration, formally launching the Arctic Council, the U.S. has reached the mid-point of its second rotation as chair of the Arctic Council. Momentous as the founding of the Arctic Council was at the time, after years of hard negotiations the event received little

By Jean-François Arteau and Karina Kesserwan Where is that Arctic—the images of which capture and fascinate your imagination in turn? Is it cold temperatures, Northern Lights, the midnight sun, icebergs, majestic animals, or resilient people? For many, the answer that first comes to mind is simply: “It’s very far away!” It is no accident that

By Rosemarie Kuptana & Suzie Napayok-Short Inuit Ilitqusia, or the Inuit Way of Knowing (Inuit Qaujimaningit, IQ), is the vast body of scientific knowledge of the Inuit. What is this Inuit Ilitqusia? It is a living entity. As Jaypetee Arnakak explains,  “It is a means of rationalizing thought and action, a means of organizing tasks

From April 27-28, World Policy co-hosted a conference on the Arctic at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. in collaboration with the University of Washington and Trent University. The conference was the first to examine the theme of the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council: “One Arctic: Shared Opportunities, Challenges and Responsibilities.” During the conference,

By Ashley Chappo Last week, the One Arctic Workshop was held at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., co-hosted by Trent University, the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, and the World Policy Institute’s Arctic in Context initiative. The conference was unprecedented in that it was the first workshop

This article was originally published in Up Here Magazine. By Samia Madwar When Alesrine Andre flies from Norman Wells to Inuvik, NWT, she looks out the window to watch the hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes below her. To most passengers, the features appear as little more than a sprawling, natural canvas. To Andre, it’s like

In 2009, the Greenland Self-Government Act came into force, granting the nation greater autonomy from the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland is the world’s largest island and is rich with natural resources. Erica Dingman, senior fellow and director of Arctic in Context at World Policy Institute, caught up with Inuuteq Holm Olsen, the first Greenlandic representative at

This article was originally published in Up Here Magazine. By Tim Edwards A letter from Senator Nick Sibbeston used to sit above the coffee machine at the Yellowknifer newspaper offices, congratulating publisher Jack “Sig” Sigvaldason on a lifetime achievement award and cryptically mentioning a 1980’s session of the territorial council, precursor to the legislative assembly, and

By Terry Audla  Access to affordable and nutritious food across Canada’s Inuit communities is a longstanding problem. Traditional foods, once the backbone of Inuit nutrition and cultural cohesion associated with hunting and sharing, are increasingly impacted by numerous factors not limited to climate change and  contamination of local food sources as a result of pollutants

By Kevin McGwin Greenpeace is known for a lot of things. Many of them good. But among those who spend their time thinking about the Arctic, it is perhaps most closely associated with the disastrous impacts its efforts to stop Canada’s commercial seal harvest had on the Inuit and their ability to make a living