Marine Mammals and Northern Cultures

This book focuses upon the hunting of seals and whales in the North Atlantic region, and how the activities of urban-based environmentalism has prompted responses from diverse northern peoples associated with self-determination, human rights, and sustainable development. However, the relevance of an expanding environmentalism implicitly challenges the interests and very survival of local peoples and their distinctive cultures. An historical analysis of these hunting societies reveals that although often understood as traditional and marginal, they are modern, dynamic, and pro-active. The authors argue that their 'indigenousness' is more usefully understood in terms of power relations within the international community. In examining the discourses in both camps, the authors find that despite the polarized and opposed positions each side takes, common ground still exists.