Pirkko Viljakainen participated in the north2north exchange program for fall 2024. My name is Pirkko. I am a fourth-year law student at the University of Lapland. I’m originally from Tampere, a town in Southern Finland. During the autumn quarter of 2024 I had the incredible opportunity to study at the University of Washington in Seattle

Andrew Medeiros, 2024-25 Fulbright Canada Visiting Chair in Arctic Studies, spent winter quarter teaching ARCTIC 401 – The Arctic: Environmental Change and Challenges. The class examines on the causes and consequences of global environmental change and interactions with ecological processes and challenges for the human environment, with a focus on Inuit perspectives and knowledge. As

On February 20, over 40 Arctic researchers at UW from faculty to graduate and undergraduate students gathered for an event sponsored by the UW Office of Research called “Fostering an Arctic Research Community at UW.” Participants came from the many departments and institutes at UW doing research relating to the Arctic and northern latitudes, including

Although my time in Canada is coming to a close, I am happy that I can look back at all the exciting times that I have had. Even with all of the challenges that has come with it, I have no doubt that if I had the chance I would do it all over again.

On March 4th, author Juliana Léveillé-Trudel presented her book Nirliit and held a question and answer session with the students of French/JSIS 441: Quebecois Literature. The event was held in the Smith Room at Suzzallo, and it was sponsored by the Center for Canadian Studies, the Department of French and Italian studies, the Centre de la Francophonie

In mid-February Craig Weichel, Canadian Consul General in Seattle, visited JSIS B 200: Sports and Diplomacy, taught by JSIS director Danny Hoffman. The class covers how, globally throughout history, sports (such as ping pong, Olympic hockey, and soccer’s World Cup) have been a tool for negotiating political relationships. Students learn how sport matters in the

In late November 2024, the Center hosted citizenship rights advocate and author Don Chapman who discussed the latest developments in the fight to restore citizenship to “Lost Canadians.” In his talked, he covered the history of Canadian citizenship laws, discrimination, and efforts to amend the Citizenship Act. Watch the recording of his talk (88 minutes)

Recent FLAS Fellow, Elizabeth Wycoff (MPH, Epidemiology) is now working with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Elizabeth has recently accepted a position as a Training Grant Recipient with the NIOSH-affiliated Occupational Health at the Human-Animal Interface training program. The program is in collaboration with the UW Center for One Health research,

Chase Puentes, Ph.D. candidate in Geography and a FLAS fellow in Inuktut, has been awarded the Alfonso Carlos Peña Fellowship. The Alfonso Carlos Peña Fellowship supports graduate students engaged in work related to wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (Intellectual House) and who hold a commitment to addressing social and environmental issues impacting American Indian, Alaska Native, and Inuit communities

In December, Russ Hugo, director of the Language Learning Center, was invited to serve on the Indigenous Pedagogy Expert Committee for the Canada Foundation for Innovation 2025 Innovation Fund. Russ joined the Language Learning Center (LLC) in 2008 and continued in that position until just before he completed his doctorate in Linguistics from UW in