The book, Sacred Places in the Arctic and Beyond. Cultural heritage in transition, arises from the work of an informal group of Arctic scholars, ‘The Protection of Sacred Places Group’, established by Francis Joy in 2021.  It builds on the international conference on Arctic Sacred Sites in 2013, and the book that arose from the conference, Experiencing and Safeguarding the Sacred in the Arctic: Sacred Natural Sites, Cultural Landscapes and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, edited by Leena Heinämäki and Thora Herrmann (Springer, 2017). 

Sacred Places in the Arctic and Beyond. Cultural heritage in transition, is edited by  Francis Joy, Patrick Dillon and Dawid Bunikowski. The consortium of authors brings together indigenous and non-indigenous scholars, rightsholders, and practitioners, representing and addressing different cultural and multidisciplinary perspectives on places that have spiritual and cultural heritage significance. As the work of the consortium had its origins in research in the Arctic and Nordic regions, this is the geographical area on which several of the chapters are focused.  However, the ideas developed in the book are transferable to the concerns of indigenous communities and contemporary interests about sacred places worldwide. The scope of the book is extended with contributions from Africa, the Americas, and the United Kingdom.

What makes a place sacred? To whom is it sacred? Should these places be ‘protected’, and if so, what legal status would they have? What is it that we actually ‘protect’? Who should exercise rights over them? What responsibilities would the wider community have towards them? How would any legal framework be generated? Sacred Places in the Arctic and Beyond. Cultural heritage in transition, explores these profound questions in the context of restorative spiritual relationships with the environment and the organisational frameworks required if they are to be enacted. Its premise is that the sacredness of any one place is unique to that place, but everywhere there is the challenge of ensuring that the agency of the sacred is integral to creating conditions conducive to maintaining the possibility of sacredness.

Some of the contributors wrote chapters in the earlier work, and our new book extends and develops the research by:

• reviewing understandings of ‘sacred’ and how they relate to, and are expressed in, languages, cultural practices, worldviews and lifeways;
• exploring relationships between sacred places, lifeways and the concepts and practicalities of tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
• critically analysing current legal and political frameworks relevant to sacred places, highlighting good practices and identifying matters of concern;
• evaluating options for law, policy and practice for better recognising, safeguarding and managing sacred places, taking into account indigenous peoples and local communities own practices and customs;
• developing an explanatory framework based on a synthesis of cultural ecology, legal pluralism and cultural heritage for relationships between sacred places, their associated lifeways, and means of ensuring their continuity;
• promoting collaborative links between researchers, custodians of sacred places, indigenous peoples’ organisations, and civil society leaders and practitioners to advance discussion around tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
• raising public awareness of the threats faced by sacred places and their custodians in the Arctic and beyond;
• exploring strategic directions that can help influence local, national and international policymaking, and providing recommendations for decision makers.

The book will be published by Routledge, with an estimated release at the beginning of 2026.

Banner Photo: Roza Laptander.