Dr. Glenn Iceton is the recipient of the 2024 Joan Mitchell Travel award.

Dr. Glenn Iceton is the recipient of the 2024 Joan Mitchell Travel award. Dr. Iceton holds academic positions at Mount Allison University and the University of New Brunswick Saint John. His research focuses on Indigenous land use, conservation efforts, land claims, and resource extraction in Northern Canada. 

Dr. Iceton examined two fonds during his time at Laurier Archives and Special Collections: James Gordon Nelson fonds and Canadian Arctic Resources Committee fonds. James Nelson was a professor at University of Waterloo and was an ecologist, geographer, planner, and policy maker. He passed away in May 2024. Dr. Iceton analysed various records related to environmental impact assessments within Kaska Dena territory, Alaska Highway Pipeline Panel, and developments in southeastern Yukon. In addition to these records, Dr. Iceton evaluated Nelson’s fieldnotes documenting his travels in the North: “One unexpected gem in the collection was Nelson’s own fieldnotes while he was in the Yukon Territory. These fieldnotes provide insights into his travels in the North and the various people he interacted with, including anthropologist Julie Cruikshank.” This research will support Dr. Iceton’s book project examining Kaska Dena land use and Indigenous rights and title in the borderlands of Yukon and British Columbia. 
 

Canadian Arctic Resources Committee was a public interest research and advocacy organization committed to environmentally responsible northern development, support for the rights of Indigenous peoples, respect for the authority of northern territorial governments, and increased international co-operation in the circumpolar world. It was founded in 1971 and dissolved in 2021 after 50 years of advocating for the North. Dr. Iceton examined records related to land claims and resource development in the Yukon for a research project on transboundary land claims. Specifically, Dr. Iceton studied records on the negotiation of the Inuvialuit Land Claim Agreement and the creation of the Ivvavik National Park: “This collection provides valuable insights into how various levels of government as well as industry sought to protect their extractivist ambitions in the face of the land claim negotiations and the associated creation of the national park.”
 

Dr. Iceton completed his research with the support of Laurier Archives and Special Collections’ staff: “I am deeply appreciative of all of the assistance I received from Amanda Oliver and the archival staff at Laurier!”

Please visit the Laurier Archives and Special Collections webpage for more information about the Joan Mitchell Travel Award.