Content area
Full Text
Critical Inuit Studies: An Anthology of Contemporary Arctic Ethnography. Pamela Stern and Lisa Stevenson, eds. Lincoln: Nebraska University Press, 2006. 302 pp.
Critical Inuit Studies is a volume that links the history of anthropological research in northern Canada and Alaska with contemporary themes related to identity formation, cultural (self) representation, economic development, language, and place. The research highlights the work of junior and senior scholars from a range of disciplines including anthropology, geography, political science, and public policy. This is a timely anthology that ultimately lives up to its name. It connects northern social science research with critical theory in anthropology by exploring northern modernity and ethnographic practice in an age of political empowerment.
Several authors examine the relationship between northern communities and nonindigenous researchers in an attempt to understand what may or may not constitute "good" research practice. For some, ethnography represents an opportunity to work in collaboration with communities. Whether in the context of Participatory Action Research (PAR), community-based projects, or through trusting friendships, indigenous people are increasingly...