Circumpolar Year in Review

January

• A new Greenlandic-Danish committee to look at more self-government for Greenland is proposed by the Premier of Greenland, Hans Enoksen, Greenland’s minister for finance and foreign affairs, Josef Motzfeldt, and its new minister responsible for self-government, Jørgen Wæver Johansen.

February

• On Feb. 6, Norway celebrates its first National Flag Day on the same day as the Saami National Day.

• Canada’s Ambassador to Denmark, Alfonso Gagliano, is relieved of his diplomatic duties just before Canada’s federal auditor submits a report on Gagliano’s role in a corruption scandal that unfolded during his tenure as federal minister of public works.

March

• Dominick Arduin, 44, a French-born Finnish citizen, disappears during her second solo attempt to reach the North Pole.

• Greenland’s singer Julie Berthelsen becomes the top scorer at the Danish Music awards, picking up three prizes, including the award for the top 2003 Danish female singer.

• A Kotzebue, Alaska man swinging a baseball bat strikes and kills a baby girl who is nestled inside another man’s jacket. Richard L. Miller, 43, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of the 10-month-old girl.

April

• In Disko Bay, Danish artist Marco Evaristti accomplishes what he calls his biggest challenge to date — painting an iceberg red with 1,000 litres of paint.

• Hans Island, a tiny, rocky outcrop in the Nares Strait between Canada and Greenland, emerges as a symbol of Canadian sovereignty under threat — and perhaps also as a distraction from the Liberal government’s sponsorship scandal — as Canada and Denmark defend their separate claims to the island.

• Mikael Petersen, one of Greenland’s most powerful MLAs and a cabinet minister, resigns after being charged with drunk driving.

• Greenland gives the Nalunaq Gold Mine A/S permission to start mining and shipping gold from Nalunaq near Nanortalik in southern Greenland.

May

• Secretary-General Kofi Annan opens the third session of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that runs from May 10 to 21. Some 1,500 people representing more than 500 indigenous groups worldwide attend this session, focused on indigenous women.

June

• Greenland celebrates 25 years of home rule government on June 21 with a huge party in the capital city of Nuuk and other celebrations throughout the island’s smaller communities.

• Sadie Neakok, a former Barrow, Alaska judge and teacher, mother of 13, and hero of the 1961 “duck-in” to protest hunting regulations, dies at age 88.

• UArctic welcomes Nunavut Sivuniksavut as a member, bringing the total number of members in this virtual university’s network to 72.

July

• The Riddu Riddu festival in northern Norway highlights Nunavik at its four-day circumpolar and indigenous festival featuring the best of the region’s art, music, fashion and food.

• Japan’s proposal to have a 1986 ban on commercial whaling lifted is rejected 29-24 at the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting, held in southern Italy.

• For the fourth year in a row, the U.N. ranks Norway as having the highest standard of living in the world. Sweden, Australia and Canada are next in line.

• Tourism in Iceland is up 17 percent, compared to the same time last year, according to Iceland’s tourist board. A total of 64,275 tourists visit Iceland in July.

August

• On Aug. 6, political leaders from Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. sign three landmark deals in the sheep-farming village of Igaliku, which will allow the U.S. to move ahead with its missile defence program and upgrade the Thule air base in northern Greenland.

September

• Blue mussels, normally found in warmer waters, are found growing on the seabed just 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole, while jumbo flying squid are caught offshore Alaska, showing these species are now moving into northern waters.

• About 4,000 teachers go on strike in Iceland, putting more than 45,000 students out of school. They stay on strike until mid-November.

October

• Greenland launches a new suicide prevention program called Parisa to bring down its suicide rate. Every year, there are about 50 suicides in Greenland.

• A new joint committee for cooperation between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland meets in Nuuk. During the meeting, the U.S. opens its new “American Corner” resource centre and announces the creation of a virtual American consulate for Greenland.

• Russia’s parliament ratifies the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming.

• A Bering Sea storm slams Nome, Alaska, flooding its main street and forcing the evacuation of dozens of businesses and homes along the water’s edge.

November

• A volcano under one of Iceland’s biggest glaciers erupts, setting off a dramatic display of fire, ice and ash that disrupts air traffic between North America and Europe.

• The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment summary report is released in Reykjavik, Iceland and becomes the focus of a one-week symposium on the many impacts of climate change throughout the Arctic.

• To the dismay of its indigenous permanent participants, the Arctic Council ministerial meeting follows up the ACIA with a watered-down policy document, which calls for strategies to mitigate climate change and new technologies to promote renewable resources.

• The Arctic Human Development Report, a 280-page report on Arctic people and societies, is released in Reykjavik, Iceland. An electronic version is available at www.svs.is.

December

• Fishing vessels from Greenland and the Faroe Islands are booted out of Canadian ports, to protest their over-fishing of international quotas.

• The U.N. General Assembly adopts a draft resolution proclaiming a Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People to start in January, 2005.

• The Scandinavian countries are hard hit by the south Asia tsunami of Dec. 26, which leaves more than 5,000 residents of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland dead or missing.