In early November, Tony Penikett, former premier of the Yukon Territory, discussed the thesis and background of his book Hunting the Northern Character, in which he argues that a new consciousness is developing in the circumpolar region.
During decades of service as a legislator, mediator and negotiator, Tony Penikett witnessed a new northern consciousness grow out of the challenges of the Cold War, climate change, land rights struggles, and the boom and bust of resource megaprojects. In Hunting the Northern Character, Penikett argues that the negotiation of Indigenous land rights treaties and self-government agreements in Alaska, Northern Canada and Greenland over the last fifty years have totally transformed the character of the Arctic, in ways the capital cities of Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States do not yet recognize.
Penikett gave an engaging lecture followed by questions from the audience. Following, at the reception hosted by the Consulate General of Canada in Seattle, Robert Kerr gave an overview of Canada’s commitment to the Arctic and recent initiatives.
The visit was sponsored by the Canadian Studies Center, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies; Quaternary Research Center’s 50th Anniversary Lecture Series; Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities; and the Consulate General of Canada in Seattle.