Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a vanguard of the Arctic during the heroic age of polar exploration at the turn of the 20th century. Explorers like Stefansson set out to conquer uncharted lands with a desire for heroic status, expansion of social and environmental knowledge, and acquisition of economic and political capital. During this time, knowledge was truly power, and innovations in science and technology were indicators of progress.
This portion of the exhibit is categorized into three sections:
Exploration and Evangelization
Transportation and Economic Development
The sections track major human developments in the Alaskan, Russian, and Canadian Arctic environments as documented in Stefansson’s Encyclopedia Arctica. The actors of development are varied and the innovations diverse, including trade and military shipping, canoe building, meteorological techniques, petroleum development, and transportation.
To understand these developments in relation to the burgeoning ideas and events at the time of the Encyclopedia Arctica, we must situate them within distinct socio-cultural, political, scientific, and economic contexts. Each development occurred in conjunction with growing Western European notions of a more accessible or “friendly” Arctic, the imminent political pressure of the Cold War, a growing interest in indigenous Arctic communities and environmental science, and a newfound understanding of the region’s potential economic worth.
Due to its extensive impacts on both humans and the natural environment, Arctic development throughout the early 1900s is vital to a holistic understanding of the region. The innovations and changes recorded in the Encyclopedia Arctica have influenced the lifestyles, traditions, and identities of Arctic peoples as well as the legacy of the land.