Hunting the Northern Character
Published on 15. November 2017
Book
Hardback
348 pages
978-0-7748-8000-8 (ISBN)
Description
Canadian politicians, like many of their circumpolar counterparts, brag about their country's "Arctic identity" or "northern character," but what do they mean, exactly? Stereotypes abound, from Dudley Do-Right to Northern Exposure, but these southern perspectives fail to capture northern realities. In this passionate, deeply personal account of modern developments in the Canadian North, Tony Penikett corrects confused and outdated notions of a region he became fascinated with as a child and for many years called home.
During decades of service as a legislator, mediator, and negotiator, Penikett bore witness to the advent of a new northern consciousness. Out of sight of New Yorkers, and far from the minds of Copenhagen's citizens, Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders came together to forge new Arctic realities as they dealt with the challenges of the Cold War, climate change, land rights struggles, and the boom and bust of resource megaprojects.
This lively account of their clashes and accommodations not only retraces the footsteps of Penikett's personal hunt for a northern identity but also tells the story of an Arctic that the world does not yet know.
During decades of service as a legislator, mediator, and negotiator, Penikett bore witness to the advent of a new northern consciousness. Out of sight of New Yorkers, and far from the minds of Copenhagen's citizens, Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders came together to forge new Arctic realities as they dealt with the challenges of the Cold War, climate change, land rights struggles, and the boom and bust of resource megaprojects.
This lively account of their clashes and accommodations not only retraces the footsteps of Penikett's personal hunt for a northern identity but also tells the story of an Arctic that the world does not yet know.
Reviews / Votes
This is an insider's view of Canada's North and the Arctic world generally, informed by decades of experience in all aspects of northern life - social, environmental, and economic. It is astonishingly wide-ranging and comprehensive in its approach to topics, as well as lighthearted and anecdotal. It is difficult to think of anyone who knows more, or as much, about this subject as Penikett, which makes his book indispensable reading for anyone interested in the North.Summing Up: Essential.
- W. R. Morrison (CHOICE, April 2018) There are tantalizing snippets of memoir in this book-Penikett is an excellent writer, and there's one especially lovely description of his presence as honorary pallbearer at his former mother-in-law's funeral and potlatch. But it is largely a comprehensive review of issues such as governance, international relations (a history and critique of the Arctic Council), resource management, climate change, and social issues like poverty, education, and health. Chapters on climate change, the "hungry ghost," and the complex issue of sovereignty are especially good, as Penikett honours traditional knowledge (known colloquially as TK), and the slow integration of traditional knowledge into scientific research and analysis in the Arctic.
- Marian Botsford Fraser (Literary Review of Canada) Hunting The Northern Character is an eloquent appeal to end condescending treatment of the one uniquely Canada region best known to the outside world.
- Holly Doan (Blacklock's Reporter)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Vancouver
Canada
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
640 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7748-8000-8 (9780774880008)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tony Penikett spent twenty-five years in public life, including two years in the House of Commons as chief of staff to federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent, five terms in the Yukon Legislative Assembly, and two terms as premier of Yukon Territory. His government negotiated settlements of Yukon First Nation land claims and passed pioneering legislation in the areas of education, health, and language. It also organized Yukon 2000, a unique bottom-up economic-planning process. Between 1997 and 2001, he served as deputy minister of negotiations and, later, as deputy minister of labour for the BC government. He is the author of one book, Reconciliation: First Nations Treaty Making in British Columbia, and two films, The Mad Trapper and La Patrouille Perdue.
Content
Prologue
Contours
1 Who, What, Where? Arctic Peoples and Places
2 Pawns: The Cold War
3 Born in the Northern Bush: Indigenous Government
4 No Settler Need Apply: The Arctic Council
Community
5 What You Eat and Where You Live: Poverty in the North
6 Knowing Yourself: Education and Health
7 Underfoot: Resources, Renewable and Non-renewable
Conflict
8 Arctic Security: Control or Cooperation?
9 Hungry Ghost: Climate Change
10 Boomers and Lifers: A New Divide
Notes; Bibliography; Index
Contours
1 Who, What, Where? Arctic Peoples and Places
2 Pawns: The Cold War
3 Born in the Northern Bush: Indigenous Government
4 No Settler Need Apply: The Arctic Council
Community
5 What You Eat and Where You Live: Poverty in the North
6 Knowing Yourself: Education and Health
7 Underfoot: Resources, Renewable and Non-renewable
Conflict
8 Arctic Security: Control or Cooperation?
9 Hungry Ghost: Climate Change
10 Boomers and Lifers: A New Divide
Notes; Bibliography; Index