Epilogue: The end of the Arctic as we know it

Abstract

The word unaami from the Alaskan Native Yup’ik language translates broadly to “tomorrow” and is commonly used with a connotation of change. There is no question that Arctic environments are changing, and not just the climate. There are a host of cultural, ecological, and economic factors that are also transitioning to unknown futures. Two powerful change-agents, climate change and culture-shift area reality and challenge to the traditional communities in the high northern latitudes. This epilogue briefly explores how circumpolar Inuit communities are responding to this “double whammy.”.