Activity patterns of native people in the Northwest Territories include a complex mixture of employment in the modern economy, full-time or part-time engagement in traditional pursuits, and leisure. This study identifies characteristics of participants in each activity which assist in interpreting the allocation of time among employment in the modern economy, the pursuit of traditional activities, and leisure. Three hypotheses—traditionalist, modernist and culturalist — were identified from current literature and tested statistically, using data collected in interviews held with 11,164 NWT residents in 1984. The hypotheses were: (1) engagement in the traditional sector is preferred to holding a job in the modem economy; thus, wage employment primarily facilitates pursuit of traditional activities; (2) engagement in the modern economy is preferred; those unable to work in it turn to traditional activities, which are easier to enter; (3) the traditional sector is an arena in which a cultural heritage can be maintained, a preferred sustenance obtained, or where one can demonstrate his prowess apart from any material gain that might be realized. The data do not unequivocally support any of the hypotheses, but this study suggests an alternative approach to the interpretation of activity patterns, based upon an analysis of individual preference functions.

Aviation is playing an increasingly important role in developing the resource potential of northern Canada. It is the most common means of supplying the oil rigs on Melville Island, the mining camps in the Mackenzie Mountains, and the meteorological stations on the pack ice. New technology has increased both capability and capacity. Pipe and drilling equipment can now be flown non-stop from southern Canada to airfields on the Queen Elizabeth Islands; helicopters able to carry two tons then distribute the equipment to well sites. Very rapid and precise land surveying can be conducted using the Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. Recently, a 16 640 km2 region of northern Alberta was surveyed in less than five days.

By a Grace, dated 26 November 1920, the Senate of the University of Cambridge approved an earlier recommendation of the Council of the Senate “That the University would welcome the establishment of the proposed Polar Research Institute at Cambridge.…” Frank Debenham's “Retrospect”, written to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of this date, told of the circumstances that led to the formation of the Institute, and of its aims and facilities. Now, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of that date, a brief note seems appropriate.

Each year Polar Record calls upon numerous scholars to assist in the demanding and intensive refereeing and peer-review procedures for manuscripts submitted for publication. These individuals give generously of their time and expertise to help insure that a high academic quality is maintained in Polar Record. During the preparation of the four issues for 2005, some 100 individuals assisted in the review and refereeing process.

Reindeer racing is a sport that is unique to the Scandinavian and Russian Arctic countries. The paper is based on fieldwork carried out in Finnish Lapland in which the process of training race reindeer and the reindeer race competition is examined. It gives some insight into the cultural practices that are used by Finnish reindeer herders in Lapland to train reindeer to race and the relationship that is nurtured between the race reindeer and the trainer. This paper focuses primarily on two key ethnographic interviews from the field and uses additional fieldwork data to support the points of discussion. It gives insight into the concept of ownership and what is considered to be a ‘good’ race reindeer. The reindeer trainer's understanding of the semi-domesticated reindeer challenges the concept of what it means to be ‘wild.’ This is taken into consideration in an examination of the process of the further domestication and training of the reindeer to race. The research explored the nature of the racing environment, the uniqueness of the reindeer racing event and aspects that makes it traditional and appealing for both international tourists and spectators from the north.