Ellen Ahlness

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science studying Inuktitut. My research looks at Indigenous–state relations and Arctic environmental politics. My current work examines the political mobilization among Indigenous nations in the Arctic Council. The Arctic region is undergoing tremendous changes. Reliable regional studies necessitate a strong foundation in language, culture, and issue-area familiarity . My background in Scandinavian studies and international relations complement my work with the Canadian Studies Center in developing this comprehensive foundation for understanding circumpolar politics, which will be carried forward in policy analysis.

Outside of academia, I have interned with the U.S. Department of State in the Office of International Security Operations. In the face of climate changes and environmental degradation, security is increasingly understood in terms of its human and environmental dimensions. Through the FLAS Fellowship program, I am better prepared to conduct fieldwork in Canada, Greenland and the United States, as well as to teach interdisciplinary courses on Arctic affairs. To date, my work has appeared in the American Review of Canadian Studies, Polar Record, Arctic Yearbook, World History Connected, and Managing Multicultural Scandinavia.