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This introduction serves to situate this special theme within the broader fields of language sustainability and language revitalisation and maintenance. It aims to highlight both the unique aspects of linguistic situations in the Circumpolar North as well as to present the under-theorised and practical concerns that speakers of Indigenous and minority languages in this broad region share with each other and speakers in similar linguistic ecologies worldwide. Cette introduction vise à situer les contributions de ce volume dans le champ de la durabilité linguistique, de la revitalisation et de la préservation des langues. Il s'agira de mettre en évidence les aspects uniques des contextes linguistiques du nord circumpolaire, ainsi que de présenter les préoccupations théoriques et pratiques, jusqu'à présent peu décrites, que partagent les locuteurs des langues autochtones et minoritaires de cette vaste région et d'écologies linguistiques similaires de par le monde.

Indigenous people living in the Circumpolar North rely, to varying degrees, on the natural environment and the resources it provides for their lifestyle and livelihoods. As a consequence, these Northern Indigenous peoples may be more sensitive to global climate change, which has implications for food security, cultural practices, and health and well-being. To date, most research on the human dimensions of climate change in the Circumpolar North has focused on biophysical issues and their consequences, such as changing sea ice regimes affecting travel to hunting grounds or the effects of melting permafrost on built infrastructure. Less is known about how these changes in the environment affect mental health and well-being. In this paper, we build upon existing research, combined with our community-based research and professional mental health practices, to outline some pathways and mechanisms through which climate change may adversely impact mental health and well-being in the Circumpolar North. Our analysis indicates that mental health may be affected by climate change due to changes to land, ice, snow, weather, and sense of place; impacts to physical health; damage to infrastructure; indirect impacts via media, research, and policy; and through the compounding of existing stress and distress. We argue that climate change is likely an emerging mental health challenge for Circumpolar Indigenous populations and efforts to respond through research, policy, and mental health programming should be a priority. We conclude by identifying next steps in research, outlining points for policy, and calling for additional mental health resources that are locally responsive and culturally relevant.

Land-based transport corridors and related infrastructure are increasingly extending into and across the Arctic in support of resource development and population growth, causing large-scale cumulative changes to northern socio-ecological systems. These changes include the increased mobility of people, goods and resources, and environmental impacts on landscapes and ecosystems as the human footprint reaches remote, unindustrialized regions. Arctic climate change is also generating new challenges for the construction and maintenance of these transport systems, requiring adaptive engineering solutions as well as community resilience. In this review article, we consider the complex entanglements between humans, the environment, and land transportation infrastructure in the North and illustrate these interrelations by way of seven case studies: the Baikal–Amur Mainline, Bovanenkovo Railway, Alaska–Canada Highway, Inuvik–Tuktoyatuk Highway, Alaska Railroad, Hudson Bay Railway, and proposed railways on Baffin Island, Canada. As new infrastructure is built and anticipated across the circumpolar North, there is an urgent need for an integrated socio-ecological approach to impact assessment. This would include full consideration of Indigenous knowledge and concerns, collaboration with local communities and user groups in assessment, planning and monitoring, and evaluation of alternative engineering designs to contend with the impacts of climate change in the decades ahead.

Indigenous peoples in Canada and in the Circumpolar North face a higher disease burden leading to end-stage organ failure and face geographic and systemic barriers to accessing health-care services, including those for end-stage organ failure and organ donation and transplantation (ODT). To address these issues, I present a think tank model used in Saskatchewan, Canada, which focused on ODT and recommended research and policy changes that address inequitable Indigenous access to ODT, most specifically in northern and remote regions. Over the past three years, think tank members, comprised of Indigenous cultural leaders, elders, and persons with lived experience in ODT, and complemented by medical and advocacy exports, have highlighted equity and utility issues as key concerns, and discussed ways in which these issues can be addressed. Recommendations include culturally-safe methods for documenting and tracking Indigenous identity, development of training to address culturally specific needs, and additional funding to support Indigenous transplant donors and recipients.

While Inuit living in Nunavut have been advocating for decades for the return of birthing to their own communities, over two-third of births continue to occur outside of the territory. We conducted a literature review to answer the question, why has birthplace choice not been given back to Inuit yet. Based on our review we identified a number of factors impacting birthplace choice, including the organisation of the Nunavut medical system that is focused on primary health care and that cannot easily accommodate the potential clinical risks Western health care associates with birthing, often in isolation from socio-cultural risks; staffing vacancies and turn over in Nunavut, which creates challenges in continuity of care and in maintaining trust; and trends in Canada towards the medicalisation of birthing, which resulted in the displacement of traditional midwifery, and lately in the professionalisation of midwifery with training centres mostly located outside of Nunavut. We recognise that providing more options to birth in the north is complex. While birthing in the north as an option is a given objective, operationalising this objective in a consistent manner is likely going to be a challenge for years to come.

Research shows that healthy ageing is defined differently by older adults and researchers, who may put more or less weight on the physiological, psychological, societal and personal aspects of ageing. Although there is growing interest in the research literature on lay models of healthy ageing in socio-cultural context, little work has been done to determine how important or feasible the various components of healthy ageing are viewed to be by older adults. This study asked a convenience sample of 54 older adults in the circumpolar North to rate the importance and feasibility of 36 previously identified components of healthy ageing in their community. Results indicate that seniors in the sample place the most importance on aspects of the social and physical environment, while least important concepts included psychological and individual behaviours. However, most feasible aspects were individual behaviours and least feasible were aspects of the social and physical environment. Although older adults are able to construct a model of what healthy ageing should look like in their community, they do not always view the most important aspects of healthy ageing to be the most feasible to achieve, providing ample opportunity for public and social policy change.

The role of ferrous metallurgy in ancient communities of the Circumpolar North is poorly understood due, in part, to the widespread assumption that iron technology was a late introduction, passively received by local populations. Analyses of two recently excavated sites in northernmost Sweden, however, show that iron technology already formed an integral part of the hunter-gatherer subsistence economy in Northern Fennoscandia during the Iron Age (c. 200–50 BC). Such developed knowledge of steel production and complex smithing techniques finds parallels in contemporaneous continental Europe and Western Eurasia. The evidence presented raises broader questions concerning the presence of intricate metallurgical processes in societies considered less complex or highly mobile.

Environments are shifting rapidly in the Circumpolar Arctic and Subarctic regions as a result of climate change and other external stressors, and this has a substantial impact on the health of northern populations. Thus, there is a need for integrated surveillance systems designed to monitor the impacts of climate change on human health outcomes as part of broader adaptation strategies in these regions. This review aimed to identify, describe, and synthesize literature on integrated surveillance systems in Circumpolar Arctic and Subarctic regions, that are used for research or practice. Following a systematic realist review approach, relevant articles were identified using search strings developed for MEDLINE® and Web of Science™ databases, and screened by two independent reviewers. Articles that met the inclusion criteria were retained for descriptive quantitative analysis, as well as thematic qualitative analysis, using a realist lens. Of the 3431 articles retrieved in the database searches, 85 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Thematic analysis identified components of integrated surveillance systems that were categorized into three main groups: structural, processual, and relational components. These components were linked to surveillance attributes and activities that supported the operations and management of integrated surveillance. This review advances understandings of the distinct contributions of integrated surveillance systems and data to discerning the nature of changes in climate and environmental conditions that affect population health outcomes and determinants in the Circumpolar North. Findings from this review can be used to inform the planning, design, and evaluation of integrated surveillance systems that support evidence-based public health research and practice in the context of increasing climate change and the need for adaptation.

In Northern Canada, climate change has led to many acute and interrelated health and environmental impacts experienced among Inuit populations. Community-based monitoring, in which community members participate in monitoring initiatives using various forms of technology, is a key strategy increasingly used to detect, monitor and respond to climate change impacts. To better understand the landscape of existing environmental and health monitoring programmes mobilising different technologies and operating in the North we conducted a review that used environmental scan methodologies to explore and contextualise these programmes. We consulted with academic researchers with experience in community-led monitoring, conducted systematic searches of grey and peer-reviewed literature, and conducted a secondary search for environment-health mobile-phone applications. Following specific criteria, we identified 18 monitoring programmes using information and communication technologies in the North, and three global monitoring mobile-phone applications, which cumulatively monitored 74 environment and health indicators. Several themes emerged, including the need for: (1) community leadership, (2) indicators of environment and/or human health and (3) innovative technology. This synthesis supports the development of community-led, environment-health monitoring programmes that use innovative technology to monitor and share information related to the health implications of climate change in and around Indigenous communities throughout the Circumpolar North.

This article explores social identity borders at the intersection of gender, sexuality, and race in the Circumpolar North. Perspectives of those living in the Arctic who self-identify as women, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, or any combination thereof, is presented. An intersectional lens frames lived realities among marginalized communities within context of ongoing challenges and advocacy in the Circumpolar North. This exploration of social identity borders, or border digs, shows mutual imbrications of inequity across marginalized communities. Advocacy for equitable futures supports sustainable futures and these futures require cultural safety – a call to action.