ARCTIC
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic
<p><em>Arctic</em> is North America's premier journal of northern research! Now in its seventh decade of continuous publishing, <em>Arctic</em> contains contributions from any area of scholarship dealing with the polar and subpolar regions of the world. Articles in <em>Arctic</em> present original research and have withstood intensive peer review. <em>Arctic</em> also publishes reviews of new books on the North, profiles of significant people, places and northern events, and topical commentaries.</p>The Arctic Institute of North Americaen-USARCTIC0004-0843Seasons of Change: Ecological Recovery From Legacy Arsenic Pollution in Rapidly Warming Subarctic Lakes
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/79107
Amanda Little
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764467–476467–47610.14430/arctic79107Species Identification of Inuit Skin and Fur Clothing: Analyses of DNA, Hair Microscopy, and Macroscopical Identification
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/78938
<p class="p2">From approximately 1830 to 1940, through various expeditions to Siberia, Arctic North America, and Greenland, and through donations, the National Museum of Denmark acquired its collection of historical Inuit skin clothing. Unfortunately, original provenance information has been lost for 14% of the garments. In order to document the extensive collection, this study investigates three methods for species identification of animal skin: microscopy of hair, macroscopic identification, and DNA validation. Thus, the present study has two aims: first, to optimise and test hair microscopy for species identification by validating identifications by DNA analyses, and second, to use species identification to estimate the geographic and cultural provenance of Inuit skin clothing.</p> <p class="p3">Based on a dataset of well-documented clothing (for positive controls), this study describes an optimised species identification protocol via hair microscopy using transmitted light microscopy (TLM). We demonstrate that the TLM hair protocol is a reliable and inexpensive alternative to molecular approaches when macroscopic identification is doubtful and DNA validation or protein analyses are impossible. In this study we used photomicrographs to document the identifications of caribou (<em>Rangifer tarandus</em>), musk ox (<em>Ovibos moschatus</em>), species of the true seal family (Phocidae), domestic dog (<em>Canis lupus familiaris</em>), wolf (<em>Canis lupus</em>), Arctic fox (<em>Vulpes lagopus</em>), polar bear (<em>Ursus maritimus</em>), wolverine (<em>Gulo gulo</em>), ground squirrel (<em>Urocitellus parryii richardsonii</em>), ermine (<em>Mustela erminea</em>), and cattle (<em>Bos taurus</em>); these identifications can be used for future reference. We conclude that species identification analyses secure the documentation of garments and allow most objects to be contextualized by culture and geography. The studied garments are accessible at the museum website.</p>Anne L. SchmidtLuise Ø. BrandtMikkel-Holger S. SindingJesper StenderupFilipe G. Viera
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764382–399382–39910.14430/arctic78938Cash Economy and Store-Bought Food Biases in Food Security Assessments of Inuit Nunangat
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/78196
<p class="p2">Researchers, community organizations, and Inuit leaders increasingly question the suitability of methods to assess the prevalence of food insecurity in Inuit Nunangat (the Inuit homeland in Canada). Particularly contentious is the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM). The HFSSM is applied in modified form as part of Health Canada’s nationwide Canadian Community Health (CCHS) and Aboriginal Peoples Surveys. The 18-question HFSSM is the primary survey tool used by the Government of Canada to assess food security prevalence. Yet the HFSSM asks only about the affordability of store-bought foods (also termed “market foods” elsewhere in the literature) when collecting data to designate food security status. This is despite communities in Inuit Nunangat having complex dual or mixed food systems, that is, they rely on foods harvested from ancestral lands (country foods) in combination with store-bought foods to sustain mixed cash-subsistence economies and diets. Sourcing country foods requires money for the purchase of equipment and machinery. However, country foods also have numerous access and availability criteria dictated by non-financial factors. In this paper, we explore the problem of the monetary bias (the focus on an individual or household’s ability to purchase foods) in the HFSSM and discuss the knock-on effects of using monetary metrics as the sole means of measuring and monitoring food security in dual food environments. We contend that relying on monetary access as a measure presents an incomplete picture of the reality of food insecurity in Inuit Nunangat. Presently, there is little consideration of the nuance of social norms and cultural values that govern dual food systems or the importance of less tangible, non-financial factors that might affect food access (e.g., knowledge of where and how to harvest and of machine maintenance, suitable environmental conditions for travel, conducive harvest regulations, social relationships, ecological stability). Ultimately, this contributes to restricted policy-level understandings of what it means to ensure stable, culturally adequate, and just food systems, and limits self-determination in northern food environments.</p>Angus W. NaylorTiff-Annie KennyChris FurgalDuncan W. WarltierMatthew Little
Copyright (c) 2022 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2023-10-112023-10-11764400–413400–41310.14430/arctic78196Integrating Oral History and Archaeology of the 1845 Franklin Expedition: The Case From Kungearkbeearu
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/78992
<p class="p2">Attempts to accurately reconstruct events that occurred during the final phases of the 1845 Franklin Northwest Passage expedition face a key challenge: how to address inconsistencies and, in some cases, contradictions between historical descriptions of sites and the archaeological evidence they contain. This paper examines the case of site NcLa-1 at Kungearkbeearu, on the Simpson Strait coast of King William Island, for which the Inuit oral history seems incompatible with archaeological interpretations. New archaeological data from the site provide an enhanced framework within which to evaluate both the oral history and archaeology of NcLa-1.</p>Douglas R. StentonRobert W. Park
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764414–425414–42510.14430/arctic78992Avian Taphonomy at Bluefish Caves, Yukon, Canada
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/78984
<p class="p2">A recent analysis of the mammal bones from Bluefish Caves (northern Yukon Territory, Canada) suggests that modern humans visited the site on several occasions for short-term hunting activities as early as 23,500 calibrated years BP. Here we apply taphonomic methods to the avian remains recovered from the caves. Seventeen genera of birds are identified in the assemblage, including 450 ptarmigan individuals (<em>Lagopus lagopus </em>and <em>Lagopus muta</em>). We discuss paleoenvironmental implications and show that carnivores and birds of prey (e.g., foxes, Snowy Owls) were likely responsible for most of the accumulation and modification of avian remains. Human intervention, however, is reported on one Snow Goose bone and possibly on ptarmigan bones.</p>Lauriane BourgeonRolfe D. Mandel
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764426–444426–44410.14430/arctic78984Unstitching the Past: An Experimental and Microwear Investigation of Dorset (Paleo-Inuit) Needles from the Foxe Basin Region
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/79001
<p class="p2">For Paleo-Inuit cultures, needles are arguably one of the most important artefact types, as they were used to create warm, waterproof clothing that is essential for survival in Arctic environments. This, in combination with the prevalence of needles within archaeological collections, has prompted many researchers to the topic of Paleo-Inuit needles. However, the majority of their studies have approached the material using traditional, typological methodology. A pilot study conducted by Siebrecht et al. (2021) demonstrated that, while needles from several Dorset Paleo-Inuit culture (c. 800 – 1300 AD) sites in the Foxe Basin region were previously considered as typologically identical, microwear analysis highlighted variation in how they would have been made and used over time and across sites. The pilot study also noted variation, across sites, in certain typological attributes, such as needle eye shape, distal end shape, and cross-section shape. The present study aims to expand on these discoveries by considering possible reasons for variability in the attribute of needle cross-section shape. Methodologically, we use microwear analysis, experimental archaeology, and ethnographic collaboration. With this approach, we were able to explore Dorset needle making and sewing practices in more detail than has been possible in prvevious, purely typology-focused studies. Our results showed no observable pattern between cross-section shape and the material being sewn but may reveal links between needle size and the material being sewn, a correlation in different polish types and the duration of needle use, as well as insights into the possible sewing techniques used by Dorset groups. Our study thus offers a fresh perspective on this topic and points to new directions for this area of Arctic archaeological research.</p>Matilda SiebrechtAnnelou van GijnSusan LofthouseElsa CencigKathryn Kotar
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764445–463445–46310.14430/arctic79001Books Received
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/79104
Editor
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764466466Paper to Appear in ARCTIC
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/79106
Editor
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764466466AINA News
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/79108
Editor
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764477477I Will Live for Both of Us: A History of Colonialism, Uranium Mining, and Inuit Resistence, by Joan Scottie, Warren Bernauer, and Jack Hicks
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/79103
Caitlynn Beckett
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764464–465464–46510.14430/arctic79103Manuscript Reviewers 2023
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/79109
Editor
Copyright (c) 2024 ARCTIC
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2024-03-172024-03-17764478478