The first one examines the following questions: How do Greenlanders experience colonialism today? How can Greenland decolonise? Do Inughuit (Greenlanders from Avanersuaq, or the far northwest of Greenland) experience colonialism differently? How did the Reconciliation Commission contribute to decolonisation in Greenland? How do Greenlanders’ opinions influence decisions about resource activities? These are some of the questions asked by Martin Binachon, Rachael Lorna Johnstone and Jonathan Wood during their fieldwork in Greenland in October and November 2021. The three University of Akureyri researchers interviewed 18 Greenlanders and held around 20 informal discussions. They also attended the Nuuk Nordisk Festival and the Reflecting Nuuk Nordic side-event. In addition, Prof. Johnstone gave a keynote presentation at Greenland Science Week, where she discussed decolonisation of research and education in Greenland and took part in a panel discussion entitled “Making Science Matter: but How?” Martin Binachon was also interviewed by the local radio in Qaanaaq, where he discussed his research findings. Their fieldwork reports are thus duly published in this special issue, in both English and Kalaallisut: https://nome.unak.is/wordpress/volume-17-no-2-2022/
The second special issue focuses on the legal, political and ethical questions related to sacred sites. Despite the progress made in recent years regarding the protection and management of sacred sites in the Circumpolar North and nearby regions, legal recognition and some levels of adequate protection are still missing in many jurisdictions, and even raising awareness about the current threats to sacred sites in many parts of the North is still needed, while important ethical questions remain ambiguous and unanswered. Hence, forces were joined by researchers in several different fields to create a novel research project on the protection and recognition of sacred sites. A first step is the organization of a two-day international workshop at the Conference of the Finnish Anthropological Society, in Rovaniemi, March 21-23, 2023. The twelve extended abstracts presented in this special issue were submitted by participants in the upcoming workshop. They provide insights into the wide range of concerns, initiatives and works carried out by Indigenous and non-indigenous rightsholder and researchers across the circumpolar North and further afield. The extended abstracts and two introductory notes can be found here: https://nome.unak.is/wordpress/volume-17-no-3-2022/