Polar Imperative: a History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America

561 Pages·2011·18.837 MB·English

by  Grant, Shelagh

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ased on Shelagh Grant’s thirty years of
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“Polar Imperative may well be the best book ever written a groundbreaking archival research on Arctic
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on the history of the Arctic in North America. In the age h a history of a rc t ic sovereignty and her reputation as a lead-
ing historian in the field, Polar Imperative: A History
l D
of climate change and competition for Arctic resources,
. of Arctic Sovereignty in North America is a definitive
sov e r e ign t y in nort h a m e r ic a
this original and provocative book will spark renewed debate g overview of the many attempts by many countries
a r
a to claim sovereign rights over the polar regions
about the future of the North. Essential reading for anyone a

h n of North America. Unlike numerous other books
seeking to understand what is going on in the Arctic today.” i t on the subject, this authoritative volume covers
s r
t Alaska and Greenland as well as Canada, balanc-
Ken CoateS, author of Arctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North
o
Shelagh D. grant is the author of the award- ing the implications of major changes in climate,
r
science and technology, and international law
winning Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, y
against the competing ambitions of those coun-
1923; Sovereignty or Security? Government Policy in the “ClIMate Change anD arCtIC SoVereIgnty May be o
f I tries seeking sovereign rule of the Arctic.

Canadian North, 1936–50; a history of Mittimatalik two SIDeS of the SaMe CoIn, but In the enD It IS all a Of particular importance is Grant’s use of
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r
(Pond Inlet) translated into Inuktitut; and numer- about ICe—eIther too MuCh of It or too lIttle.” c archival documents to reveal previously unpub-
ous scholarly articles on related topics. She is an t lished details surrounding Britain’s 1880 transfer
i of the Arctic islands to Canada, and the identity
c
adjunct professor in the Canadian Studies Pro- p
“This is the book for ‘southerners’—a well-written study with s of those who firmly secured Canadian title to the
gram and a research associate of the Frost Centre o archipelago in 1925. By comparing the actions
wonderful photographs that is the product of a lifetime’s
at Trent University. She lives with her family in v e of various governments over two millennia, she
e
research into Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic and the political concludes that Arctic sovereignty has historically
Peterborough, Ontario. r
e depended less on legal interpretation or military
and environmental threats we face today. Shelagh Grant has r
i might than on the ice cover that restricted access
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confirmed her position as our leading historian of the North.” n P O L A R to adjacent waters, and the speed with which
t countries have acted to assert sovereign authority.
J.l. granatSteIn, historian a
y
Polar Imperative is a thought-provoking chal-

i lenge to all readers to consider what is needed to
n
t adapt existing sovereign rights to current realities
n
o while protecting the fragile Arctic environment
I M P E R A T I V E
r I from irreparable damage. With a refreshingly
b t
multinational perspective, Grant clearly places
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the onus for action on the leadership of those

Douglas & McIntyre a
Arctic countries with the most to lose—Canada,
d&m publishers inc. m
Russia, Greenland/Denmark, the United States,
Vancouver/Toronto/Berkeley e e
www.douglas-mcintyre.com r and Norway—and reminds us that there is little
i time to waste.
Jacket and text design by Naomi MacDougall c S h e l a g h D . g r a n t
Jacket photograph: Bergy Bits under Cloudy Sky © Corbis a
Author photograph by Michael Cullen
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
Printed on forest-friendly paper
douglas & $39.95
Distributed in the U.S. by Publishers Group West
mcintyre
PolarImperativeJacketFINAL_3.indd 1 29/03/10 9:44 AM
polar imperative
PolarImperativeInteriorFINAL.indd 1 08/04/10 9:20 AM
P O L A R
a history of arctic
sovereignty in north america
I M P E R A T I V E
S h e l a g h D . g r a n t
b
Douglas & McIntyre
d&m publishers inc.
Vancouver/Toronto/Berkeley
PolarImperativeInteriorFINAL.indd 2 08/04/10 9:20 AM
P O L A R
a history of arctic
sovereignty in north america
I M P E R A T I V E
S h e l a g h D . g r a n t
b
Douglas & McIntyre
d&m publishers inc.
Vancouver/Toronto/Berkeley
PolarImperativeInteriorFINAL.indd 3 08/04/10 9:20 AM
Copyright © 2010 by Shelagh Grant
10 11 12 13 14 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright
Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit
www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Douglas & McIntyre
For Jon,
An imprint of D&M Publishers Inc.
2323 Quebec Street, Suite 201 my children and grandchildren
Vancouver bc Canada v5t 4s7
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada
isbn 978-1-55365-418-6 (cloth)
isbn 978-1-55365-618-0 (ebook)
Editing by Jean Wilson
Jacket photograph Bergy Bits under Cloudy Sky © Corbis
Text printed on acid-free paper that is forest friendly (100% post-consumer
recycled paper) and has been processed chlorine free
Printed in Canada by Friesens
Distributed in the U.S. by Publishers Group West
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council
for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Province of British
Columbia through the Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Government of
Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.
PolarImperativeInteriorFINAL.indd 4 08/04/10 9:20 AM
For Jon,
my children and grandchildren
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Contents
· · · ·
maps · viii
preface and acknowledgements · ix
part i: setting the stage
1 Defining the Parameters · 5
2 First Inhabitants, 3000 bc–1500 ad · 25
3 Merchants and Monarchs, 1500–1814 · 55
part ii: the nineteenth Century
4 The British Admiralty and the Arctic, 1818–53 · 97
5 Purchase of Alaska, 1818–67 · 115
6 Sale of Rupert’s Land, 1870 · 135
7 British Transfer of the Arctic Islands, 1870–1900 · 155
part iii: the twentieth Century
8 Perfecting Sovereign Titles, 1900–38 · 193
9 World War ii, 1939–45 · 247
10 Postwar and Cold War, 1946–91 · 285
11 Arctic Oil and Aboriginal Rights, 1960–2004 · 339
part iv: the twenty-First Century
12 Beginning of a New Era · 405
13 Conflicts and Challenges · 435
notes · 471
selected bibliography · 511
index · 519
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maps
· · · ·
Circumpolar View of the Arctic, c 2009 · xv
Alaska, 2009 · xvi
The Canadian Arctic, 2009 · xvii
Greenland, 2009 · xviii
Migration Routes of the Palaeo-Eskimos,
3000 bc–1000 ad · 33
Migration Routes of the Thule Inuit, 1000–1500 ad · 40
Viking Explorations and Settlements
in North America, c1000 ad · 43
Russian Settlements in Alaska, c1800 · 89
Canada in 1870 after Purchase of
Hudson’s Bay Company Lands · 145
Sverdrup’s Explorations in the
Arctic Islands, 1898–1902 · 197
Canadian Presence in the Arctic, c1933 · 243
Arctic Weather Stations, Ferry Routes
and Airfields in World War ii · 261
Defence Activities in the Arctic during the Cold War · 325
Limits of Jurisdiction in Canadian Arctic Waters, c1986 · 377
Shrinking Arctic Sea Ice and
Potential New Shipping Routes · 408
Inuit and Eskimo Self-Government
in North America, c2009 · 417
Disputed Claims in the Circumpolar Arctic, c2009 · 453
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prefaCe and
aCknowledgements
· · · ·
I
nspiration comes unexpectedly and often in the strangest places.
I always knew I would write this book but never quite understood
why, until a visit in the summer of 2006 to the abandoned rcmp
detachment at Dundas Harbour not far from the eastern entrance to
the Northwest Passage.
Jon and I, along with our fourteen-year-old grandson, had just
debarked from a Zodiac and climbed up a rocky incline. It was warm
and sunny, the skies a vibrant azure blue and not an animal to be seen.
When we reached the top of the hill, the sight before us was breath-
taking: three tiny boxes set slightly apart on a vast landscape of green
tundra, pebble beach and glistening waters that stretched endlessly to
the horizon. Behind lay towering cliffs and nestled on the side, a white
picket fence that I knew enclosed the graves of two police officers.
The compelling beauty of the scene slowly gave way to one of incom-
prehension. How could three young men assisted by two Greenlandic
Inuit families possibly protect Canadian sovereignty in this remote
and barren land, which had never been occupied by Inuit and rarely,
if ever, been visited by hunting parties? Even the whalers had long
departed. With a small wooden skiff and rifles used for hunting, how
could they do anything of greater significance than raising a flag on
Beechey Island? Was it just symbolic? Perhaps a deterrent?
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