Pipeline Dreams: People, Environment, and the Arctic Energy Frontier

Interest in the Arctic as one of the world’s last energy frontiers is increasing. The indigenous peoples of the circumpolar North have long been involved in struggles to make sense of, adapt to, and negotiate the impacts and consequences of resource exploration and development but they have also been involved in struggles to gain some measure of control over development as well as to benefit from it. With a focus on the North American Arctic and sub-Arctic, this book discusses how dreams of extracting resource wealth have been significant in influencing and shaping relations between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, as well as in the opening up of northern frontier regions to economic development. Through a detailed discussion of plans to explore for oil and gas and to build pipelines across northern lands, it considers and reflects upon the idea of the Arctic as a resource frontier and the concerns expressed by a variety of groups and commentators over the social and environmental impacts of the oil and gas industry, as well as the opportunities development may bring to the sustainability of indigenous and local livelihoods, cultures and societies. Mark Nuttall is a social anthropologist who has worked extensively in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Scotland and Finland. He is Professor and Henry Marshall Tory Chair in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta and is author and editor of several books, including the three-volume Encyclopedia of the Arctic (Routledge, 2005). He also holds a visiting position as Academy of Finland Distinguished Professor at the University of Oulu, Finland.