Eyes on the Arctic: U.S.-Canada Collaboration in the North

As Canada celebrates the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, Meridian International Center, with support from the Embassy of the United States in Ottawa, is pleased to present two exhibitions that showcase the relationship between our nations as distinguished neighbors. Northern Stars: 150 Years of U.S.-Canada Relations imparts a historical perspective of both familiar and lesser-known connections while Eyes on the Arctic: U.S.-Canada Collaboration in the North offers an area focus on shared heritage and cooperation in the Arctic.

Eyes on the Arctic provides an engaging examination of U.S.-Canadian activities near the hemisphere’s pole with a dynamic multimedia display. Indigenous communities, with millennia of history in the region, communicate and share an intimate knowledge of the environment with researchers of both nationalities. Together, the resulting surveys and discoveries allow for a more complete understanding of the complexities of the northernmost reaches of the globe.

In Photos: Eyes on the Arctic

“We are part of the Nunamta Yup’ik Singers and Dancers group. I have been a part of the group since 1991, 25 years.” Josephine Aloralrea (left) and Agnes McIntyre (right), are both Yup’ik and live in Bethel, Alaska. When IAI asked how long they have been a part of the dance group, Chuna McIntyre (not pictured) added, “You know what? When it comes down to it, it is really truly timeless. That’s how we feel, we are carrying on something that we have been doing for 30 centuries, right here. Imagine that. Thirty centuries!” Chuna also performs with Nunamta Yup’ik Singers and Dancers and is originally from Eek, Alaska. Nunamta is Yup’ik for “Our land”.” Photo by Brian Adams.

Aaju Peter performs an Inuit song while Mathew Nuqingaq drum dances on an ancient Thule site on Devon Island, Nunavut. Both are wearing traditional Inuit clothing. This photo is featured on a Royal Canadian Mint coin representing Nunavut in a Canada 150th coin series collection. Photo by Michelle Valberg.

A grandfather and his grandson, wearing traditional caribou clothing made for hunting, greet visitors on the beach in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, the only settlement on King William Island. Photo by Michelle Valberg

A Canadian-manufactured DHC-3 Otter plane surveys mountain glaciers for Operation IceBridge-Alaska, 2014. NASA/Chris Larsen, University of Alaska-Fairbanks

Dr. Nweeia and Arctic Bay hunter and artist Adrian Arnauyumayuq (right) conduct research in Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Nunavut, 2008. Gretchen Freund/Narwhal Tusk Research

Clione, a shell-less snail known as the Sea Butterfly, swims in the shallow waters beneath the ice in the Beaufort Sea, 2005. Kevin Raskoff/Hidden Ocean 2005 Expedition: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration

The exhibitions are scheduled to travel throughout Canada in 2017. Check back here and follow along with #USCanada150 for updates.

Tentative schedule:
February 1 – February 19 – Ottawa
March 9 - April 30 - Toronto Public Library (Eyes on the Arctic)
April 18 - April 30 - Toronto City Hall Routunda (Northern Stars)
May 17 – June 14 – Quebec City - Bureaux Parks Canada
June 30 – July 19 – Halifax International Airport (Northern Stars)
September 27- October 15 – Winnipeg- The Manitoba Museum (both exhibits)
October 25- November 22 – Calgary- Telus Convention Center (both exhibits)
November- December – Vancouver

N.B.–A second circulation of Eyes on the Arctic will be on display at the Montreal Biosphere beginning June 1.

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