Founded on Ice and Tradition

FOUNDED ON ICE AND TRADITION A Comparative Examination of the Development and Effectiveness of the Inuit Circumpolar and Saami Councils D. Luke J. Laframboise Supervisor: Per Jansson Examiner: Bo Persson Department of Political Science Master Thesis in International and European Relations ISRN: LIU-IEI-FIL-A--19/03129--SE Word Count: 23999 May 27, 2019 Abstract There has been a great deal of interest in the Arctic governance in recent years, but little of the interest has been in the indigenous peoples that populate it and the political structures they use to make themselves heard. In this thesis, these political structures, and the peoples that form them, are studied in a historical context in order to determine how these structures were developed, how their cultures have been effected by their relationship with non-indigenous governments and what affect both people and structure have had in their political environment. This was done through a qualitative comparative case study between the Sami of Scandinavia and the Inuit of northern Canada and Alaska. From this study, it was determined that the level of relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous governments determined the degree to which political bodies would occur and their ability affect their political environment. Following this relationship each case example developed a body for their own advocacy as a result of sudden political pressure placed upon them. Overall, this thesis determines that the development of institutions is not fixed, but rather contingent to past events. Keywords: Inuit, Sami, Arctic, Indigenous, Institutions Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother, Elizabeth Laframboise, who has supported me throughout this adventure. I know you will always have my back, even when I say I’m moving to Europe with only a few months notice. Second, to Nina Delling, my adopted German Aunt, who inspired me to return to where I’m happiest. I never thought I’d find family at an interview I was a half hour late for. Third, to the John and Marie Fhager who have been better than family to me. I owe you both more than I can ever repay. Though, I imagine a speedboat would be a good start. Finally, I would like to thank Per Jansson, my thesis supervisor, who provided much support and good insight into the thesis process, and Stephanie Grimm, my thesis opponent, who provided much needed editing for the final draft. Without either of you this thesis would not have been as good as it is. This thesis is dedicated to Ron Laframboise My father You left too soon Table of Contents Part 1: Foundation .......................................................................................................................0 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................1 Images of the Arctic .............................................................................................................1 A changing landscape ..........................................................................................................2 Indigenous peoples and opportunities ...................................................................................3 Questions and Structure .......................................................................................................4 Chapter 2: Relevance ...............................................................................................................7 Arctic Relations ...................................................................................................................7 Indigenous Rights ................................................................................................................8 Climate Change....................................................................................................................9 Chapter 3: Theory .................................................................................................................. 10 History of Institutionalism .................................................................................................. 10 Theory and Practice ........................................................................................................... 11 Mechanisms of Historical Institutionalism.......................................................................... 13 Chapter 4: Literature Review ................................................................................................. 16 Arctic Literature Generally................................................................................................. 16 Arctic Literature: A Scholarly Balance ............................................................................... 17 Cooperative Literature ....................................................................................................... 18 Indigenous Politics ............................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 5: Research Methods ................................................................................................ 22 The Historical Institutional Approach to Research .............................................................. 22 A presentation of the Cases ................................................................................................ 23 A Note on Indigenous Research ......................................................................................... 25 Part 2: Case Research ................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 6: The Inuit of North America and Eastern Russia .................................................... 28 The People of the Ice ......................................................................................................... 28 First and Second Contact .................................................................................................... 30 A History of Ambivalence ................................................................................................. 31 Political Developments ...................................................................................................... 32 The creation of a Council ................................................................................................... 34 Changing Times ................................................................................................................. 35 Chapter 7: The Sámi of Fenno-Scandia and Western Russia .................................................. 38 The People of the Herd....................................................................................................... 38 Early History...................................................................................................................... 39 Contact with the South ....................................................................................................... 40 Alta Controversy ................................................................................................................ 41 Developing Solutions ......................................................................................................... 42 A Plurality of Parliaments .................................................................................................. 43 Changing Priorities ............................................................................................................ 44 The Fall of the Curtain ....................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 8: Analysis ............................................................................................................... 47 History Repeats .................................................................................................................. 47 Critical Junctures ............................................................................................................... 50 Decisions Impact ................................................................................................................ 52 What is to be Learned ........................................................................................................ 55 Chapter 9: Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 57 Images Revised .................................................................................................................. 57 Questions and Tools ........................................................................................................... 57 Answers and Conclusions .................................................................................................. 58 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 61 Part 1: Foundation “From antiquity onward, our stories about the poles have themselves been polar: either the ends of the earth are precious, glorious and ours for the taking or they are desolated, unattainable and deadly.” Kathryn Schulz, Literature’s Arctic Obsession Founded on Ice and Tradition - 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Images of the Arctic The Arctic is not a well understood region of the world. For as much as the advances of technology and engineering has made it a more accessible place, interests

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