ABSTRACT: This essay criticizes the neocolonialist narrative modes that Colossal Biosciences uses to promote its Alaskan mammoth de-extinction and rewilding project. Drawing on the scholarship of Kyle Whyte (Potawatomi), it argues that the company deploys a series of crisis-oriented stories to position itself as the savior of an environment on the brink of annihilation. First, the essay elaborates the history of these stories in Alaska, demonstrating that they have fueled interest in and support for numerous harmful scientific and industrial projects. Then, it examines their manifestations in Colossal’s various promotional materials. The essay concludes by describing an ongoing—and less crisis-oriented—rewilding project involving wood bison in Shageluk, Alaska.
Jennifer Schell (Thu,) studied this question.