Discussion - Erica Dingman

When reflecting on the various official documents provided by the Arctic Council Permanent Participants it is important to take note that although there are similarities amongst policy positions and at times official statements, all groups do not necessarily hold identical views. Moreover, within each group of peoples official policy positions do not necessarily reflect the view of an individual. Quite to the contrary. To put this in context, it is highly unlikely that all citizens agree with official policy positions taken by a government in a given nation-state. Respectively, Arctic Indigenous Peoples must be understood in the same vein.

In general terms, all Arctic Council Permanent Participants agree with the institutionalization and implementation of international instruments including the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Both of these international instruments call on states to respect the basic rights of indigenous peoples worldwide. They are both a means of providing a basis for restitution to those who have been marginalized on the very lands of their ancestry.

It could be said that for Arctic Indigenous Peoples one of the most critical aspects of development decision-making is the right to “free, prior and informed consent” by their respective states. This principle is most clearly stated in UNDRIP where the phrase appears numerous times throughout the Declaration. Article 32.2 affirms:

States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.

The complexities of increasing global entanglements are vast. However, as the new accessibility of the Arctic region pose enormous challenges to the people living there, it is important that political decision-makers consider the ramifications of tourism, shipping and natural resource extraction alongside the implications of global economic trends.

In closing, it is essential to think beyond the limitations and constrictions of a given policy position to view the dynamics of Arctic indigenous peoples as living aspirations that are complex and fluid adjusting to conditions of the moment. Arctic indigenous cultures and traditions are rich with nuance.