Raiders of the Lost Arctic

October 18, 2012 by Upside Downtrodden

It’s Thursday October 18th! Do you know where your podcast is? On this day in history back in 1867, The United States formally took possession of Alaska from Russia. As if Alaska belonged to The United States in the first place. As if Alaska was Alaska in the first place. As if as if were a respectable conjunction. Don’t agree with our assessment? Fine. We can always go outside, roll up our sleeves, and settle this like men (whatever that means) in the back of a dark “Aleut”. We’ll stand up for the indigenous peoples time “Unangan”. When it comes to doing the right thing, we really get “Inuit”. All these pathetic attempts to “claim” the Arctic are false (and nothing new). They continue to reveal the glaring shortcomings of the dominant culture all throughout history. Working under the premise that any country (or any person) can own any land (above or below water) or any soon to be revealed land (courtesy of decades of ice melt that has surpassed nearly all expert predictions), we’re left with only one false question. Who owns this land? It doesn’t help that nearly every article you read further enforces this false premise. Shelagh Grant, author of the award-winning book Polar Imperatives: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America stated, "Canada no longer has the luxury to dither and debate. If this government fails to take immediate action, Stephen Harper may well go down as the Prime Minister responsible for the nation's loss of control over its Arctic waters." What immediate action are we talking about, Shelagh? We’re going to guess it has something to do with force (e.g. intimidation, coercion, etc.). There’s nothing to claim. We can’t “own” the Arctic anymore than we can own a mountain, river, or desert. We realize many of you have pieces of paper with ink writing on it that suggests otherwise, but that’s an illusion. You can’t own the world. You belong to the world. And you’re sharing it with all other living creatures big and small. Until we’re able to understand and accept that one simple truth, our problems will continue to multiply. Plant your flag on our ice sheet of podcasting by downloading our brand new episode today! Click the links below, and enjoy a refreshing night(polar)cap!

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