Guest Editor Robert P. Wheelersburg
An astonishing aspect of the now blossoming interest in Arctic research is how much public attention the environmental changes associated with global warming are receiving but how little emphasis is placed on how those physical processes are influencing cultural change in the region. While Arctic politicians and mass media outlets comment on how rapidly the North is being altered physically, it is important for scholars to help people understand how much culture is evolving in the Arctic for both Indigenous and introduced (i.e., settler) residents. Toward that end, this section’s contributions use art, most produced by Arctic dwellers themselves, and analysis of traditional behaviors to examine the region’s cultural diversity and richness.
