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fact, in that same year, the Inuvialuit signed a land claim agreement that also
failed to address matters of self-government. Since the official proclamation
of a federal self-government policy in 1995, self-government agreements are
now negotiated concurrently with land claims. And twenty years after the
JBNQA was finalized, a self-government agreement formally accompanied
the land claim settlement. In 1995, the Yukon managed to negotiate the first
modern self-government agreement as part of its comprehensive land claim.
This is significant because it means that land claims are no longer only about
land and cash compensation and title but also about restoring power to the
Aboriginal peoples.
Self-government, like human security, is without a clear and precise
definition. Instead, it is a composite of elements that vary according to the
community or situation at hand. What self-government is about, in essence,
is increasing governance in Aboriginal communities, because, ultimately,
self-government reconfigures the location of power with respect to decision-
making abilities from the state to the community. In their recommendations
to the Government of Canada, Deiter and Rude (2005) suggest first and
foremost that the focus of the government be to recognize and affirm First
Nations' right to self-government by implementing First Nations' land and
resource management agreements (Deiter and Rude 2005:5). Where land and
resources are at issue, the implementation of land claims and the transfer of
powers of self-government are imperative if communities are going to max-
imize opportunities associated with development. Indeed, land claims and
self-government are central to the struggle against insecurity. And when it
comes to oil and gas development, no group in Canada lives in greater insecu-
rity than Aboriginal peoples in the Arctic.
To illustrate the significance of land claims and the difference made by
self-government, it is useful to compare and contrast concerns expressed in
communities where land claims have been settled but where self-government
has or has not been achieved. That is, while land claims have been finalized
in many communities, the topic of self-government remains outstanding in
quite a few, thus challenging the security of Aboriginal peoples. Although
there are significant differences existing among the northern territories, rang-
ing from issues of devolution to the pre-eminence of resource development, it
is useful to consider the experiences of peoples living in remote communities,
in light of their experiences and anxieties surrounding self-government. That
is, it is interesting to note the changes that self-government has brought to
Yukon, when juxtaposed against those perspectives espoused from a commu-
nity that has yet to achieve self-government; namely, the resource-rich region
of Tuktoyaktuk in Inuvialuit territory in the NWT.
Land claims and self-government are increasingly about bringing political
and not just economic power back into the communities. Nowhere is this
more evident or necessary than in the high Arctic where the oil rush is on
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