Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic

Gary N. Wilson · Christopher Alcantara · Thierry Rodon

feb 2020 · UBC Press

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The Canadian federal system was never designed to recognize Indigenous governance, and it has resisted formal institutional change. But change has come.

Indigenous communities in the North have successfully negotiated the creation of self-governing regions, most of which have been situated politically and institutionally within existing constituent units of the Canadian federation. These varied governance arrangements are forms of nested federalism, a model that is transforming Canadian federalism as it reformulates the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state.

Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic traces the political journey toward self-governance taken by three predominantly Inuit regions over the past forty years: Nunavik in northern Québec, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the western Northwest Territories, and Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador. This meticulous analysis of the regions’ development trajectories provides new insight into the evolution of Indigenous self-government, as well as its consequences for Indigenous communities and for Canadian federalism.

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Gary N. Wilson is a professor of political science at the University of Northern British Columbia. He is the co-editor of Northern Sustainabilities: Understanding and Addressing Change in the Circumpolar World (with Gail Fondahl) and Resource Communities in a Globalizing Region: Development, Agency, and Contestation in Northern British Columbia (with Paul Bowles). He has also written numerous articles and book chapters on politics and governance in the circumpolar north.

Christopher Alcantara is a professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario. He is the author of A Quiet Evolution: The Emergence of Indigenous-Local Intergovernmental Partnerships in Canada (with Jen Nelles); Negotiating the Deal: Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements in Canada; and Beyond the Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights (with Tom Flanagan and André Le Dressay). He has published over 40 articles in a wide array of scholarly journals.

Thierry Rodon is an associate professor in the Political Science Department at Université Laval and holds the Research Chair in Northern Sustainable Development. He is also the director of the Interuniversity Centre for Aboriginal Studies and Research (CIERA). He has authored numerous publications on Indigenous policies, treaties, and self-governance in Canada.