Amazon in the Arctic: E-Commerce, Infrastructure, and Alimentary Assemblages in Nunavut, Canada

Author(s)

Katrin Schmid

Abstract

Since establishing a delivery hub in Iqaluit, Nunavut in 2020, Amazon.com, Inc. has become an essential resource for many Nunavut residents, providing affordable access to goods otherwise constrained by high costs and limited availability in the Arctic. This article explores the significant yet underexamined role of the Amazon corporation in Nunavut, Canada, as a response to the territory’s infrastructural and economic challenges. By combining an alimentary understanding of infrastructure with the theoretical concept of assemblage theory, I analyze Amazon’s operations as part of a complex system shaped by global logistics and local agency. My research based on ethnographic fieldwork highlights how Inuit residents adapt Amazon’s services to navigate gaps left by government programs. This nuanced perspective challenges assumptions about e-commerce as a purely homogenizing force, illustrating how residents adapt global platforms to meet local needs, and underscoring the interplay between global corporations, local infrastructure, and Indigenous agency in shaping Arctic livelihoods.

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Journal

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

Volume

55

Pages

110-131

No. of pages

22

ISSN

0891-2416

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1177/08912416251398435

Publication date

12-2025

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504017 Cultural anthropology, 504008 Ethnography

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Language and Linguistics, Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science, Urban Studies

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/3c1d2295-b0b9-43e3-a8d8-ad8f1364c796