A unique journey into the Arctic world, its myths and changes. Once We Had the Arctic gathers a quarter-century of travel and insight from Finland’s leading expert on Arctic affairs.

Markku Heikkilä has journeyed from northern Canada to the Ob River and from Iceland to Alaska. Along the way he shatters myths and preconceptions about life in the Arctic, surfacing little-known stories such as the Last War of the Khanty People, Alaskan Sámi reindeer and the ballerina in Svalbard.

The book dives deep into landscapes and lives, some of which we are about to lose. It is about more than our changing climate: the Arctic was once a shared space among different peoples, until the region was swept into a storm of global politics.

”A breathtaking book. It delves deep into the northern world in a smooth and profound way.” – Kulttuuritoimitus. ”Markku Heikkilä has compiled his extensive knowledge and a quarter of a century of travel in eight Arctic countries.” – Kaleva.

Markku Heikkilä is a journalist and Head of Science Communications at the Arctic Centre, who has worked in the region for more than 30 years and received the State Prize for Public Information. Essential reading for anyone fascinated by the Arctic, its peoples and the future of the North.