Nunatsiavut

Surveying existing literature, this article offers a preliminary assessment of the intersection of Indigenous governance and Arctic extractive industries, with a special focus on how Indigenous governance institutions position themselves vis-à-vis resource extraction in three regions: Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada), Greenland and Sápmi (the Sámi territory in Scandinavia). As a survey of existing scholarship, interviewing representatives of the extractive industry or Indigenous governments was beyond the scope of this article and hence, the analysis and conclusions are both preliminary and schematic. They do demonstrate, however, that the relations and strategies vary considerably and tend to depend on the degree and jurisdiction of the Indigenous self-governing authority. Further, they point to a pressing need for more detailed research in this area.

This arti􏰀cle compares three environmental assessment (EA) cases in Nunatsiavut (Labrador), Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories to bett􏰁er understand how resource decision-making processes in northern Indigenous mixed economies are gendered. Advances in Indigenous jurisprudence and Indigenous peoples’ asser􏰀tions of their rights to lands and territories have influenced new cooperati􏰀ve resource management ins􏰀tituti􏰀ons and associated environmental assessment frameworks. Though previous research has pointed to the systemic ways in which EAs undermine self-determina􏰀on, there has been li􏰁le a􏰁en􏰀on to how gender influences EA processes and outcomes. This ar􏰀cle contributes to emerging scholarship on gender and EAs through a themati􏰀c analysis of the environmental assessments for the Voisey’s Bay Mine and Mill in Nunatsiavut (1997); the Meadowbank Mine in Nunavut (2004–2006); and the Mackenzie Gas Project (2003–2009). The cases examined reflect a spectrum in the extent to which gender is accounted for and a􏰁ended to in EA processes. Indigenous women’s interventi􏰀ons in each case challenged the narrowly scoped treatment of gender in EA processes by describing their broad concerns with development.

La mayoría de los 65.030 Inuits del Canadá viven en 51 comunidades
de Inuit Nunangat, la tierra natal de los Inuits que abarca la región
de asentamiento de los inuvios en los Territorios del Noroeste,
Nunavut, Nunavik en la parte septentrional de Quebec y Nunatsiavut
en la parte septentrional de Labrador.
Los amplios acuerdos de reivindicación de tierras de los
Inuits conforman los contornos políticos de cada una de las
cuatro regiones inuits. Mediante estos acuerdos protegidos
por la Constitución, las organizaciones representativas y los
gobiernos inuits administran junto con el gobierno federal casi
un tercio de la masa terrestre del Canadá y el 50% de su costa.
Los Inuits están representados a nivel nacional por el Inuit
Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) y a nivel internacional por el Consejo
Circumpolar Inuit-Canadá. El consejo de administración de ITK
está formado por los dirigentes de las cuatro organizaciones
regionales de representación de los Inuits y los gobiernos Inuvialuit
Regional Corp., Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., Makivik Corp. y
el Gobierno de Nunatsiavut. Además de los miembros con derecho
a voto, también forman parte de la junta los presidentes
de los siguientes representantes de los participantes permanentes
sin derecho a voto: Consejo Circumpolar Inuit-Canadá;
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada; y el Consejo Nacional de la
Juventud Inuit.

Nunatsiavut, położony na wschodnim wybrzeżu Kanady, to najmłodszy z czterech samorządnych regionów inuickich, tworzących Inuit Nunangat. Powstał na mocy porozumienia ziemskiego i samorządowego zawartego w 2005 roku pomiędzy Inuitami z Labradoru (Labrador Inuit) i prowincją Nowa Fundlandia i Labrador oraz rządem federalnym. Niniejszy artykuł ma trzy cele: po pierwsze zarysowanie historii powstania Nunatsiavut, po drugie przedstawienie najważniejszych zapisów porozumienia ziemskiego i utworzonych wówczas instytucji politycznych, a po trzecie ocenę funkcjonowania Nunatsiavut przy wykorzystaniu modelu zarządzania wielopoziomowego.

Rhodiola rosea (L.) (Crassulaceae) is an amphi-Atlantic plant with considerable value in both traditional pharmacopeias as well as the commercial natural products industry.  Despite its broad ecological amplitude, little is known about the effects of environmental conditions or habitat upon its phenotypic plasticity and phytochemistry.  In particular, while only a few studies have investigated the biology of North American populations of rhodiola, none have examined the abundant coastal populations native to Labrador, an area that is being significantly affected by climate warming.  Interviews with Nunatsiavut Inuit elders in Labrador have documented traditional knowledge and use of rhodiola, locally known as tulligunak, as well as enthusiasm for the development of a community-based enterprise to market value-added, locally cultivated rhodiola as a natural health product. However, the geographical variability in growth and phytochemistry of local rhodiola populations must first be addressed, in order to inform cultivar selection and cultivation conditions.  We investigated the effects of latitude, substrate, and sex (female vs male) on the growth and phytochemistry of coastal Labrador populations of rhodiola. Wild plant specimens were sampled from northerly (Nain) and southern (Rigolet) populations, and from sand, organic, or rock substrates to compare growth, morphology, and phytochemistry.

Latitude and substrate were found to have a significant effect upon overall growth and biomass, while the differences between males and females were not significant.  Greatest biomass was found in specimens gathered from southern populations and those growing in sandy and organic substrates.  Substrate had a significant effect on salidroside, rosavin, and tyrosol, with less tyrosol and salidroside in rocky substrates, and less rosavin and rosarin in sandy soil. Sex did not have a significant effect upon phytochemistry.  These results will inform development of a community-based enterprise with tangible and intangible benefits for a remote aboriginal community.  Importantly, by cultivating local strains of rhodiola for commercialization, this will help mitigate pressure on wild populations of rhodiola due to commercial harvest activities.

Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge research funding by ArcticNet Centre for Research Excellence, and Dr. Sandy McAuley, as Primary Investigator on the broader ArcticNet project. We also acknowledge the students, faculty, and staff who shared stories, and allowed their stories to be further shared