A Quiet Movement: Inuit self-determination, Arctic
Region
Linda Jones
“It’s interesting that it is our shared troubled atmosphere that is connecting us as a shared humanity.”9
The Inuit are known for their ingenuity in thriving and adapting in one of the most challenging environments in the world: the harsh Arctic region of ice and snow. This Inuit agility has been built on cultural values of observation, competency and connectedness. Traditionally, children were encouraged
to watch and to learn, and to not ask a lot of questions; people acted when they were confident that
they could complete tasks with proficiency; and a strong connectedness to all aspects of their environment permeated the Inuit’s sense of being.
In recent years, challenges have grown as the pace of climate and cultural transformation has accelerated – in less than one generation, people have moved from independent hunting households living
in scattered camps to settled communities that are globally connected and increasingly reliant on the
south for their survival. The general attitude is that the Inuit will continue to adapt and succeed as they
have always done. But the rapid changes that have been experienced do not come without a cost to
the individual, to the community and to the land that has been inseparable from their livelihoods. Statistics relating to poverty and incomes, mental health and youth suicide, school success rates, hunting
accidents and unpredictable weather patterns reveal the extreme costs that have been born by the
Inuit. Sheila Watt-Cloutier and others emphasize that the Inuit are in a vulnerable state that is compounded by relentless climate change threatening their culture and livelihoods.
When asked about the famous Inuit flexibility, one Inuit interviewee posed the rhetorical question,
why do the Inuit need to be so good at adapting? Inuit did not choose to live in settlements, go to
residential schools, lose hunting grounds or be affected by melting snow and ice. Rather, why can they
not have greater control over the forces that are impacting their lives? This case study examines this
movement towards greater control – the unique coming together of dispersed communities in their
efforts to achieve self-determination and livelihood security. This is a quiet movement that is based on
observation, competence and connectedness, and it is stealthily taking hold and letting itself be heard.
The case highlights one aspect of the movement – the efforts against unbridled climate change in
the Arctic and its impact on traditional livelihoods. This work is highly complex given the low population-density in the Arctic, transnational boundaries of Inuit peoples, and legal petitions made to national and international bodies that fall outside the boundaries of one or all of the petitioning groups.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a strong woman leader, has been at the forefront of climate change activism,
and her contribution is examined through the lens of self-determination and control over resources.
In her role as an elected representative and the international chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council
from 2002 to 2006, she transformed the way that the world views climate change. She argued that
climate change is not just an environmental issue, but it is a question of cultural survival and therefore
Rockel, N (2002) “Sheila Watt-Cloutier Made Climate Change A Human Rights Issue” Special To The Globe And Mail Published Monday, Oct. 04 2010, 6:00 Pm Edt Last Updated Thursday, Aug. 23 2012, 4:19 Pm Edt
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http://Www.Theglobeandmail.Com/Report-On-Business/Sheila-Watt-Cloutier-Made-Climate-Change-A-Human-Rights-Issue/
Article1216160/
Citizen-Led Sustainable Change: Innovations in North American Community Development
St. Francis Xavier University Extension Department and the Coady International Institute
June 23 - 25, 2013
1
of human rights.10 Sheila has long made the case that this is an issue for the whole world and not only
the Inuit: “We remain guardians of the natural environment. As we continue to navigate rapid social
change it seems highly appropriate that Inuit provide advice to the world on issues that affect the
health of our planet.”11
Geographically, although connected with the Arctic more generally, this case study focuses in on Nunavut where Sheila Watt-Cloutier has been based throughout her work on climate change, and where
most of the interviewees have grown up and still live. Moreover, Nunavut is the first self-governed Inuit
territory that came into being in 1999 – providing political machinery for self-determination.12 During
this time, climate change efforts have evolved from a historic legal petition that was supported by Inuit
hunters and elders living on the land to youth who are using social media to connect and share across
the huge region they inhabit. Today, although there is greater contention in Nunavut about climate
change with potential for economic benefit as the ice cap melts, the concern around Inuit self-determination remains. Structures and processes have been adapted to take charge of the situation. The
baton is being passed as young citizens become active in key organizations, participating in major
international events such as the UN Summit on Climate Change and expressing their apprehensions
and dreams via all kinds of social media – blogs, Facebook pages, op-eds and YouTube videos.13
Indigenous Peoples Plenary Intervention, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference Canada and
Vice President of ICC, Stockholm, Sweden, May 22, 2001.
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Indigenous Peoples Plenary Intervention, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference Canada and
Vice President of ICC, Stockholm, Sweden, May 22, 2001
12
Inuit Cultural Online Resource http://icor.ottawainuitchildrens.com/node/29
13
For example: YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp3t_ovUwfs
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nanisiniq-Arviat-History-Project/129308460430338
Tumblr http://nanisiniq.tumblr.com/ClimateChange
Pembina http://www.pembina.org/op-ed/1953
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Citizen-Led Sustainable Change: Innovations in North American Community Development
St. Francis Xavier University Extension Department and the Coady International Institute
June 23 - 25, 2013
2