Economic Development , Indigenous Governance , & Arctic Sovereignty

The Northern Review

This article contributes to academic debates about the relationship between Indigenous rights and the expansion of capitalism and colonialism in Canada. Using case studies of duty to consult litigation related to resource extraction on and near Inuit territory, I argue that Inuit experiences with the duty to consult have been mixed.While Inuit have won some important victories in the courts, in other cases the duty to consult has provided a notably weak legal mechanism for Inuit to either stop unwanted extraction or compel the government to impose effective mitigation measures to safeguard Inuit harvesting rights. The duty to consult appears to mostly enable, rather than impede, the expansion of colonial and capitalist social relations in the Inuit homeland.

2021

This book offers multidisciplinary perspectives on the changing relationships between states, indigenous peoples and industries in the Arctic and beyond. It offers insights from Nordic countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Russia to present different systems of resource governance and practices of managing industry-indigenous peoples' relations in the mining industry, renewable resource development and aquaculture. Chapters cover growing international interest on Arctic natural resources, globalization of extractive industries and increasing land use conflicts. It considers issues such as equity, use of knowledge, development of company practices, conflictsolving measures and the role of indigenous institutions.

ARCTIC

The four decades since the Berger Inquiry have produced a large body of research demonstrating the positive and negative impacts of resource development on northern communities. However, little independent research has aimed to yield an understanding of how best to manage the impacts of resource development and to harness its benefits in ways that can promote long-term sustainable development. This question was the impetus for the Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic (ReSDA) research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2011. Representing a network of researchers, community members and organizations, ReSDA researchers conducted a series of analyses that focused on what was needed to ensure that northern communities received more benefits from resource development and potential negative impacts were mitigated. Overall, the analyses highlight the serious gaps that remain in our ability to ensure that resource development pr...

This paper focuses on the need for Aboriginal selfgovernment to be entrenched in the Canadian constitution. Without a constitutional amendment, the current Inherent Rights Policy will continue to promote piecemeal limited deals, operating without a national framework. A constitutional amendment is required to clearly state which government has the jurisdiction to act, thus ending policy confusion. The lack of political will by the federal government to take the lead on entrenching Aboriginal selfgovernment in the Canadian constitution has resulted in limited agreements, none of which have resulted in meaningful nationto-nation relations. The various trends and types of Aboriginal self-government agreements being explored in Canada today will be examined, thirty years after the repatriation of the Canadian constitution when Aboriginal rights were first entrenched therein.

Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2011

This article discusses the perspectives of two First Nations of Canada, northeastern British Columbia’s West Moberly First Nations, Halfway River First Nation, and Treaty 8 Tribal Council, regarding the impacts of industrial resource extraction in lands critical to their traditional cultures and subsistence activities. This collaborative project interviewed First Nation government officials and staff as well as community members and Elders, which created a complex picture of physical impacts of industrial development as well as psychological and cultural concerns. In addition, we briefly explore the impacts of First Nations being required to constantly participate in consultative processes, such as environmental assessment, designed to predict potential impacts. We conclude that recognizing and meaningfully addressing all types of impacts that First Nations experience is critical, both for ensuring environmental justice for indigenous peoples and for recognizing that some land and resources must remain for indigenous peoples to continue to practice their traditional culture. We note, as well, that if there is no room amidst industrial resource extraction activities for indigenous peoples, there is also no room for other environmentally critical values such as healthy ecosystems.

The Social Contract, 2013

Abstract: For the average Canadian, colonialism is a historical phenomena. The relationship between the indigenous nations of North America and the early settler-state are widely regarded with horror, shock and condemnation. Luckily, the mainstream argument asserts, the liberal-democratic program has left such colonial relationships behind, and today the Canadian state is able to interact with its indigenous citizens in an open and balanced way. The reality, however, is that indigenous nations remain firmly outside of the liberal-democratic program. This is a result of their own perseverance and tenacity. For these nations, liberal-democracy is nothing more than a rebranding of the historic settler-state project of colonialism. The Idle No More movement has shown us that resistance to this project is still very much alive. The author of this paper seeks to establish a deeper understanding of the persistent colonial relationship, which the Canadian state seeks to maintain over indigenous nations. Furthermore, the author intends to undermine this relationship, encouraging a rethinking of indigenous national self-determination, outside (and perhaps in opposition to) the settler-state’s authority.

Young People, Wellbeing and Placemaking in the Arctic, 2021

Setting the stage The Yukon (see Figure 6.1) is a part of Canada's Arctic boreal forest, often portrayed as "a biological treasure, Indigenous homeland, and extractivist frontier" (Willow 2016, p. 1). This 'frontier' exists because of the Tintina gold belt, stretching from Alaska to the Yukon: a geological region rich in not only gold and silver, but also copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, and uranium (Goldfarb et al., 2000). Mineral production quickly became industrialized after the gold and silver rushes of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Coates & Morrison 2005). During this history of gold and galena extraction, settlers and the Indigenous population became "irrevocably intertwined" (Winton & Hogan 2015, p.93). The present case study asks how problems Indigenous youth in the Yukon are confronted with are intricately tied to extractivism (Klein 2011; Acosta 2013; Petras and Veltmeyer 2014)-a defining characteristic of the Canadian settler state (Bélanger 2018). Extractivism, as we employ it here, is the continuation of environmentally and socially disruptive coloniality (Willow 2016). By focusing on a resilience approach (Roe et al. 2012), this chapter sketches ideas and solutions proposed by the study participants for 'living in a good way.' Living in a good way in a Yukon First Nation context means following ethical and cultural protocols and contributing to the wellbeing of oneself and one's community (Demientieff 2017). Indigenous peoples of the Yukon have lived on their traditional territories since 'time immemorial.' After contact with fur traders and prospectors in the late nineteenth century, Yukon First Nations gradually became part of the cash economy, while continuing to live off the land (Coates and Morrison 2005). Today, through land claims and self-government agreements, Yukon First Nations retain ownership to parts of their traditional homelands. 1 Referring to the large and still unremediated mine sites near Mayo, called Elsa and Keno Hills, Winton and Hogan (2015) find that Knit together in a complex pattern of mutual involvement and unequal impacts, the story of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun and the Keno Hill mine is illustrative of how Aboriginal people across Northern Canada have been

Expressions Journal of the CPSSA, 2013

""Abstract: For the average Canadian, colonialism is a historical phenomena. The relationship between the indigenous nations of North America and the early settler-state are widely regarded with horror, shock and condemnation. Luckily, the mainstream argument asserts, the liberal-democratic program has left such colonial relationships behind, and today the Canadian state is able to interact with its indigenous citizens in an open and balanced way. The reality, however, is that indigenous nations remain firmly outside of the liberal-democratic program. This is a result of their own perseverance and tenacity. For these nations, liberal-democracy is nothing more than a rebranding of the historic settler-state project of colonialism. The Idle No More movement has shown us that resistance to this project is still very much alive. The author of this paper seeks to establish a deeper understanding of the persistent colonial relationship, which the Canadian state seeks to maintain over indigenous nations. Furthermore, the author intends to undermine this relationship, encouraging a rethinking of indigenous national self-determination, outside (and perhaps in opposition to) the settler-state’s authority. ""

MINING AND COMMUNITIES IN NORTHERN CANADA: HISTORY, POLITICS, AND MEMORY, 2015

The struggle for Aboriginal rights in Canada is closely connected with resource conflicts. The threat of mining projects, hydroelectric dams, pipeline construction, and other industrial developments have often pushed Aboriginal groups to mobilize in order to reclaim control over traditional lands. As a number of chapters in this book have demonstrated, many Aboriginal peoples have fought to prevent mining developments or have struggled against the harmful effects of mines on their lives and lands. The mining industry and nation-states have dispossessed Aboriginal groups of their territories and sovereignty on so many occasions that scholars often automatically situate the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and mining as a conflict. Yet increasingly, some Aboriginal governments are choosing to negotiate with mining companies and are entering into Impact and Benefit Agreements and development proposals. Some analysts have connected the shift from protest to negotiation with hegemonic neoliberal values and practices. The current global economy encourages states to facilitate the unimpeded exploitation of resources, and neoliberal governance tends to prioritize decentralization, a sense of responsibility for self-improvement, and decreased dependency on the state. How does the willingness of Aboriginal governments to negotiate with mining interests, therefore, correlate with Aboriginal goals of self-determination? What are the implications of this engagement with neoliberal projects? This chapter explores these questions by examining how Inuit in Nunatsiavut, Labrador, have dealt with the prospect of a uranium mine on their territory since the 1950s, and how the relationship between neoliberal and Inuit goals has become complex and entangled. Based on a year of ethnographic fieldwork in Labrador in 2007-8, as well as on archival and media analysis, this chapter examines the historical articulation between changing and contradictory ideas about Aboriginal rights, economic development, and regional autonomy. By attending to the diverse perspectives of individuals and organizations, I illustrate the lived experience of regional and global processes such as modernization, Aboriginal self-government, and emerging neoliberalism, and explore how Inuit self-government and mining have become interconnected in unexpected ways.