Wrangel Island as Actant in the Historical Geography of the Russian Arctic through a Mi’kmaw Lens

Annotation

Wrangel Island is the largest island in the Russian Eastern Arctic and is now a protected place with interna-tional recognition. One of only five UNESCO world heritage sites in the Arctic, Wrangel Island is uniquely varied in its flora and fauna for an Arctic island. In this reflection piece, I use an Indigenous Mi’Kmaw cosmological approach to envision the much-storied Wrangel Island as a being and an actant in its long history, especially regarding human beings and anthropocenic activity. My approach asserts that, like plants, rocks, mountains, water, and landscapes, Wrangel Island has a unique and remarkable identity, personality, and spirit. For centuries, Wrangel Island has rebuffed human presence and it has been little affected by human activity. Today only scientists visit; no human collectivity has ever gained more than a slippery grip on the island. The tragedy is that, despite the island’s inclinations, the warming of the Russian Arctic may change this.

About authors

Maura HANRAHAN, Ph.D. (Sea-Use Law, Economics, and Policy), associate professor, Board of Governors Research Chair Tier II 
University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Keywords

Wrangel Island; ice; Arctic; Anthropocene; Mi’Kmaq

DOI

10.37482/issn2221-2698.2020.39.182

UDC

913.1(571.651.8)(045)