Richard Watts, Associate Professor of French and former Chair of the Department of French and Italian Studies (2012–2016), was appointed as the Director of the Canadian Studies Center in November. Rich researches and teaches the cultural and political networks of the francophone world, including Québec. He is the author of Packaging Post/Coloniality: The Manufacture of

The colonial state of Sweden increased pressure on the Indigenous Sámi through legislation that led to increased poverty among Forest Sámis. Two laws in particular impacted their life: the Statutes for Allocation of “State-Owned” Forest Land to Homesteaders (1873) and the Reindeer Husbandry Law (1886). The number of mouths to be fed in the family

As I fly over the southern tip of Greenland en route to the Arctic Energy Summit (September 18–20, 2017 in Helsinki, Finland), I can’t help but reflect on the unique dilemma I face in attending this conference and presenting a poster on my research. My research focuses on the quandary of energy in the Arctic.

Resilience, resistance, and strength. The history of the Sámi from medieval times to the present is one of not only colonization but also Indigenous survival and resistance, which is sometimes overlooked when the atrocities perpetuated by the Nordic nation-states are piled high. After more than 500 years of colonization, the very diverse and geographically scattered

This summer one of the Canadian Studies Center’s Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellows in French traveled to Québec City to study at L’Université Laval. Amy Delo, MA in International Studies, shares her experience: “Through the Canadian Studies Center and the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship, I had the incredible opportunity to

This summer four UW graduate students, including three JSIS MA students, attended advanced Arctic institutes to hone their critical thinking and policy-writing skills. International Studies (IS) MA student Jay-Kwon Park was accepted to the 3rd Annual Korea Arctic Academy in Busan. At the Academy, hosted by the Korea Maritime Institute, Nadine Fabbi, Managing Director of

Associate Professor Charlotte Coté, Instructor Cynthia Updegrave, and graduate student Jessica Hernandez led a unique UW Study Abroad Program to Canada this summer. The program was co-sponsored by the Department of American Indian Studies, the Canadian Studies Center, and the College of the Environment. The class followed the annual Tribal Canoe Journeys from Washington State

This past summer the World Policy Institute’s Arctic in Context blog site ran a 13-part blog series called “The Arctic Council: A Unique Institution in 21st-Century International Relations,” written by Jackson School International Policy Institute (IPI) Arctic Fellows. The blog posts analyze how nation-states and Indigenous peoples are using the Arctic Council to promote enhanced

The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, International Policy Institute (IPI) Arctic Fellows interviewed representatives from Indigenous organizations in Canada, Russia, and Greenland at the Indigenous Influence in Arctic Affairs symposium held at the University of Washington, June 2, 2017. The participants discussed the growing influence of Indigenous peoples in Arctic policy development and