Paper Short Abstract:

The circumpolar Arctic is often inscribed by outsiders. This paper works from two examples to explore how inscription and writing sometimes empty meaning out of practices. The conical tent inscribed as a marker of indigenous sovereignty, or of cultural evolution, it elides the way it is an engagement to movement and place. Second, the process by which singing is transformed into song eclipses the felt meaning of the act. The paper will work with concrete examples taken from recent conversations in Sapmi and Eastern Siberia to unwrite the analysis of cultural heritage.

Paper Abstract:

The circumpolar Arctic is often inscribed by outsiders with metaphors of remoteness, primevalness, and pristineness. These powerful metaphors often stand in silent contrast to a space which has increasingly has become a zone of competition over energy resources and creeping militarisation. This paper works from two examples to explore how inscription and writing sometimes empty meaning out of practices. First, the conical tent is a surprisingly common image of Northern landscapes from Eurasia to North America. Often when inscribed as a marker of indigenous sovereignty, or of cultural evolution, it elides the way that it is less than the sum of its structure and more the result of an engagement to movement and place. Second, the process by which singing is transformed into song through the classification of genre and type often eclipses the felt meaning of the act. The paper will work with concrete examples taken from recent conversations in Sapmi and Eastern Siberia to unwrite the analysis of cultural heritage.