Arctic Revolution: Social Change in the Northwest Territories, 1935-1994

Charlene Porsild is a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of
Colorado.

Arctic Revolution is the story of social and political change in the
North. Hamilton argues that the Arctic “revolution” began in the
1950s and had two major effects: it brought the people out of tents and
into towns, and it developed power from colonial conventions to local
self-governing entities.

The book is well balanced on Native and non-Native contributions to the
“revolution” and contains several key chapters that teachers and
researchers alike will find very useful. The chapter on Tom Berger and
the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry is an excellent summary of the
issues, events, and personalities involved. Equally valuable is the
detailed discussion of the evolution of the Northwest Territories’
Native organizations, including the Indian Brotherhood, the Métis
Association, COPE, the Inuit, and the Inuvialuit. Just as important are
the background sketches and connections between the individual Native
and non-Native leaders of the North today. It is here that the book’s
strengths really lie.

While Arctic Revolution clearly outlines the paternalism and
patronizing attitude of non-Native Northerners toward the First Nations
residents in the past, it is curiously sympathetic to the position of
the federal government. Hamilton paints an overwhelmingly rosy picture
for the future of both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. While, of
course, we would all like to see that prophecy bear fruit, some of the
most pressing issues facing the North today remain: First Nations
poverty, unemployment, and most especially housing. These problems,
among many, many more, remain unsolved, “revolution” or no
revolution. Indeed, as the author’s own discussions of the Mackenzie
Pipeline debates and land-claims negotiations indicate, social and
political change in the North was really a path littered with
obstacles—most of them rooted in racism. Many Northerners, especially
aboriginal ones, will find Hamilton’s vision of an interracial,
culturally blended future overly simplified.

The book’s organization is generally thematic, and the fact that the
narrative jumps back and forth chronologically will make it difficult to
use as a general textbook, although it will be useful in advanced
courses. Some tighter editing would have been welcome. Still, this is a
well-researched and well-written book and not without a solid dose of
Northern humor. Hamilton’s image of “30 tons of paper” arriving at
the Yellowknife airport in 1966 is one that few readers are likely to
forget.