In June 2025, the BANHER students from Trent, along with University of Tromso and Yukon University faculty continued the exploration of Yukon-Alaskan Arctic borderlands in a visit to Whitehorse, Skagway and the borderlands in between. They six-day research field trip began in Whitehorse where they explored the urban landscape of this small northern Canadian City, its infrastructure, architecture and public institutions. Colleagues from Yukon University hosted a seminar on the discussion of sustainability, energy, resource extraction and climate change, organized by Yukon University Professor Drew Lyness. Students travelled to Carcross to examine the tourism landscape developed by the Carcross Indigenous community, and to experience the environment of north America’s smallest desert – the Carcross Desert. A field trip to Mayo and a discussion of environmental impact assessment revealed the extent of the role of resource extraction on the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, the most northerly community of the Northern Tutchone language and culture group. Two highlights revealed the deeply intersectional nature of development in the borderland. A tour of the Kwantlen Dun Cultural Centre in Whitehorse showcased the resiliency of the local Indigenous art and culture, while a trip along the White Pass Railway to Skagway Alaska recalled the formidable challenges faced by borderlands Peoples and cultures throughout the 19th and 20th centuries to the modern day.
Image: June BANHER faculty and students from Trent and University of Tromso take a break in the Carcross Desert, Yukon Territory Canada.
In keeping with the goals of the BANHER project, the field trip focused on situating knowledge about urbanization, infrastructure, Indigenous governance and local ecologies and environments through local learning and research. Using the BANHER experiential learning and research framework, we concentrated on identifying challenges facing the Circumpolar region under conditions of resource extraction and climate change, Indigenous culture and governance, and cross-border economies and infrastructures. This framework helped us to appreciate emerging natural and man-made threats within the region and their multiscalar effects at local, regional and global levels, as well as the important role played by new and existing state and non-state actors. Because one of the influencing factors of the trip was the fire that raged in Dawson, limiting the extent of the excursion northward along the Alaskan Highway, the impact and importance of understanding new existential threats was at top of mind throughout the research.
The BANHER project was funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UArctic’s north2north support mechanism. It was developed in 2020 by the northern studies program group, at the department of tourism research and northern studies at the University of Tromsø (UiT) and was planned to last from 2023 until 2025/2026. One of the project’s main goals is to gain more understanding of the plural nature of the Arctic region and its central dynamics. All facilitated by excellent fieldwork opportunities and experiential learning approaches across national boundaries in the circumpolar north. It is aimed at students and scholars in North America and the Nordic countries. While the projects end in July 2025, watch for more reports and publications about this project in the 2025-26 academic year.
