Summer Stories: (Re)Ordering the Canadian Arctic

Articulating state identity: ‘Peopling’ the Arctic state

“…As will become clear below, state identity discourses are therefore spatiotemporally "bounded" in their articulation. These discursive boundaries may be a delimited territory, environment, and geography (see Thongchai, 1997;Agnew, 1999;Taylor, 2003;Antonsich, 2011); and a narrative, history, and seemingly linear progression from past through present to future (see Anderson, 1983;Cameron, 2009Cameron, , 2015Crang and Tolia-Kelly, 2010).…”

“…Suddenly in sharp relief, the memories of the past and imaginations of the future that connect people to the space from which the title of Arctic statehood is drawn are, however, always articulated in the present. Not just an instrumentalist construction of a "path", these narratives come about through the telling and re-telling of shared stories (Cameron, 2009(Cameron, , 2015; they guide the orator as much as the listener, the elected as much as the electorate. In fact, in the act of its pronunciation, it is not merely an Arctic narrative that is produced, but it simultaneously produces its pronouncer: subjectivity gained as Arctic state representative.…”

Making connections: Hearing and sharing Macassan-Yolηu stories

“…In this paper, I draw on ideas relating to the telling and hearing of stories, acknowledging the important role stories have in the creation of knowledge. There is considerable literature on the role of stories and storytelling as a means of creating and communicating a shared identity or sense of belonging (see for example Cruikshank, ; Valdes, ; Huff, ; Cameron, , ; Price, ; Houston, ). Cameron, who focuses on the ways in which stories help create Arctic geographies, reminds her readers that, ‘… knowledge is narratively constructed, and that stories do not stand outside the workings of knowledge and power but instead are crucial sites through which knowledge is conveyed and naturalized’ (Cameron, : 217).…”

“…In this paper, I draw on ideas relating to the telling and hearing of stories, acknowledging the important role stories have in the creation of knowledge. There is considerable literature on the role of stories and storytelling as a means of creating and communicating a shared identity or sense of belonging (see for example Cruikshank, 1998;Valdes, 2003;Huff, 2006;Cameron, 2009Cameron, , 2012Price, 2010;Houston, 2012). Cameron, who focuses on the ways in which stories help create Arctic geographies, reminds her readers that, '.…”

Stories of crossings and connections from Bawaka, North East Arnhem Land, Australia

“…As an intercultural team, our emphasis on storytelling parallels a growing focus on storytelling as methodology as an important component of research collaborations with Indigenous people (Cameron 2009;Howitt and Suchet-Pearson 2006;Rose 2000;Smith 1999). The focus on dialogue and sharing within 'storytelling as method', rather than on more linear notions of data collection, can allow for more active and creative interactions, and for complex and dynamic ontologies to be presented.…”