Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America
(Douglas & McIntyre,
2010;
$39.95)
Once widely considered a vast, unremarkable frozen landscape, realities of climate change are changing the north's façade. Previously obscure concepts like Arctic sovereignty and categories of off-shore waters are now glaringly pertinent as the polar ice continues to melt.
In Polar Imperative, clarifying the history of the Arctic is precisely what Shelagh D. Grant sets out to do. Drawing on extensive archival research and personal experience, Grant covers the entire spectrum of Arctic history, starting with the area's first inhabitants and moving through 19th century colonial land deals, the development of sovereign titles, World War II and the Cold War, as well as the discovery of Arctic oil and the recognition of Aboriginal rights.
![Nico Little](http://rabble.ca/sites/rabble/files/imagecache/thumbnail/category_pictures/Photo 93_0.jpg "Nico Little is an Anglo-Albertan who decamped to Montreal sometime in the late nineties "to learn French and be gay." He then moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where he worked as an HIV outreach worker in bathhouses, bars and online chat rooms for several years. In 2008 Nico helped found POWER (Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work Educate and Resist), an organization of current and former sex workers advocating for recognition of their labour, Charter and human rights. Nicholas now lives in London, U.K. You can follow his blog, Ickaprick & Ironpussy, at www.ickaprick.com. He is also a regular contributor to the Montreal-based magazine No More Potlucks.")
