Nunavut, Sovereignty, and the Future for Arctic Peoples’ Involvement in Regional Self-Determination

Authors

  • Heather Nicol Trent University

Abstract

Climate change and a renewed attention to the Canadian Arctic have refocused considerable attention upon resources, Indigenous peoples, and sovereignty. Similarly, the linked aspirations for Indigenous sovereignty and self- determination have facilitated the negotiation of a number of self-governance agreements within the region, but these ultimately reference a narrow understanding of sovereignty. The definitions of sovereignty they enshrine do not simply reflect a hierarchical set of power arrangements embedding Indigenous peoples within a larger state, but they actively contribute to the reality of asymmetrical power and influence. This is because they advance an understanding of sovereignty that remains embedded within normative understandings of state, perpetuating state and only state as the major point of reference. This article argues that sovereignty, if it is to retain its saliency as a contemporary concept,  must be reimagined as something more compatible with global developments concerning human rights, Indigenous rights, and self-determination.


Author Biography

Heather Nicol, Trent University

Heather Nicol is a professor in the Department of Geography at Trent University

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Published

05/31/2014

Issue

Section

Special Collection: The Arctic Council, the EU and Polar Politics