View From Up Here edited by Julie Decker

The outside view of the Arctic is of a place of mythic notions and proportions. Many consider it wild, remote, untouched, and unattainable - a place only few would occupy by choice. It is the place of the Aurora, polar bear, narwhal, 24-hour light and 24-hour darkness, ice, and other things that seem fantastical, romantic and mysterious. The North has long been a land of dreams, realized and unrealized, attracting explorers, scientists, and artists. Despite its mythology, the Arctic is not a land untouched. It is a place of human life and human imprint. The people of the Arctic include Indigenous people, who have adapted for millennia, recent arrivals, hunters and herders living on and with the land and city dwellers. It crosses international and artificial boundaries. The inside view of the Arctic is a place of adaptation, complex landscapes, and diverse people. It is the opposite of nothingness. "North" is relative to each point and perspective. The Arctic, however, is north of every