Linda Johnson-Bell

Breaking the Ice: Exploring the potential cultural impacts of the Arctic Circumpolar Indigenous on Scotland’s Northern islands in the context of the renewed Scottish/Arctic alliance.

The research aims to re-examine the historical relationship between Scotland's northern islands (Shetland and Orkney) and the Arctic through an Indigenous Circumpolar lens, moving beyond the traditional, narrow focus on Norse/Scandinavian influence. The study posits that the islands, before becoming a center of the Scandinavian Kingdom, were at the centre of an Indigenous Circumpolar world and seeks to discover evidence of direct or indirect cultural impacts from groups like the Sámi, Inuit, and Native Americans on northern Scotland's culture and identity, from prehistory to the present.

By establishing a "Circumpolar Motif" as a control and examining a gamut of evidence, including linguistic links, place names (e.g., Finnigirt/Funzie Girt on Fetlar), sagas, folklore, aDNA results, and archaeological finds , the research intends to challenge the assumption that Circumpolar Indigenous cultures' contribution to the Nordic Kingdoms was negligible , suggesting that the 'Norse' influence on the islands may, in fact, have a deeper Circumpolar 'Arctic' origin. The study will employ methods used in Sámi archaeology to establish Circumpolar identity and utilize a lexicon to identify Indigenous references (e.g., finns, trӧll) in written and oral sources , ultimately aiming to clarify the nature and extent of this long-held cultural connection and propose a more comprehensive context for future research.