Arctic Indigenous Rights, Lands, and Jurisdiction?
An Unfinished Journey: Arctic Indigenous Rights, Lands, and Jurisdiction? Tony Penikett I. INTRODUCTION Yellowknife-Dene political scientist Glen Coulthard sums up the goals of the indigenous rights movement Idle No More1 as a struggle for land and jurisdiction.2 Over the last forty years, American and Canadian governments made much progress on the land question in the Arctic and sub-Arctic; however, from an irrational fear of the unknown, politicians in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa have effectively blocked the pathways to aboriginal jurisdiction or self-government. In Arctic North America, indigenous land issues have largely been settled, but indigenous govern- ments still seek to restore jurisdiction over their lands and citizens. Dur- ing the late-twentieth century in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, as well as in Nisga’a territory in the northwest corner of British Columbia, First Nations negotiated provincial and local government powers. But, faced with both federal and provincial opposition, conti- nent-wide progress on the question of indigenous jurisdiction has since stalled. First Nations want land and jurisdiction—American and Canadian governments have granted some land but not much jurisdiction. If the 1. “Idle No More” is an ongoing protest movement, which began in December 2012, originat- ing among the Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and their non-Aboriginal supporters in Canada, and to a lesser extent, internationally. Idle No More calls on all people to join in a peaceful revolution to honor indigenous sovereignty and to protect the land and water. It has consisted of a number of political actions worldwide, inspired in part by the liquid diet hunger strike of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and further coordinated via social media.
[Show full text]