The Inuvialuit final agreement: political-economic development in the western Arctic Beaufort Region, Northwest Territories
Date
1994
Authors
DePasquale, Susan Frances
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Abstract
In the Beaufort Region, Western Arctic, Northwest Territories, a new era of constitutional development has dawned with Inuvialuit communities at the forefront of political-economic reform and cultural renewal inspired by their 1984 land claim. The Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) created the basis for new land jurisdictions and institutions governed by Inuvialuit communities themselves. Unlike previous state-led strategies for development in the Western NWT, the current IFA regional (corporate) governing body derives its authority to implement political-economic policy decisions and to represent Inuvialuit in the NWT Legislative Assembly from the communities. The communities decide the powers of their regional corporation, and the latter has become a strong force in the Legislative Assembly in determining the direction of regional government in the Western Arctic. The current IFA corporate network represents a constitutional change of major significance, of which the federal and territorial governments and other land claimants have taken much notice. Inuvialuit proposals to establish regional self-government, advanced since the beginning of their land claim in 1977, now appear an imminent reality. While there remain other competing levels of government begun by previous federal administrations, Inuvialuit communities are the primary governing institutions in the Beaufort region. Clearly, it is the IFA regional/community corporate bodies that are emerging as the enduring feature of Beaufort government as it exists today. Previous governing regimes in the Western Arctic have proven unreliable and transitory, a passing whim inspired by what suited the economies of the south. A downturn in the national economy and in the global oil industry has proven a blessing in disguise for Inuvialuit, and Beaufort communities have taken over the development challenge - - building a political-economy that centers on traditional wilderness activities and modern services, and that offers opportunities for future Inuvialuit.