Aboriginal self-determination and resource development activity - Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic - page 199

suffering the effects of the last oil boom, which saw a dramatic rise in foetal
alcohol syndrome and the abuse of drugs. The Vuntut Gwitchin are also con-
cerned about the serious environmental threats that any development would
pose. Already in other parts of Canada, like in northern Alberta, oil and gas
development is having an adverse effect, not only on wildlife and the land but
also on the Aboriginal peoples who live in the region (Urquhart 2010).
The VGFN government experience draws attention to one of the key
wildlife management issues of the day, which remains the protection of the
Porcupine Caribou herd. In terms of its orientation, its self-government is
intimately tied to the dynamics between non-renewable resource develop-
ment, and resource development and its role in managing environmental
issues, and being involved in decisions that have environmental impacts on
their people. From the insight of a former Territorial official interviewed on
20 September 2007, it can be understood that whether it is about instituting
a new management structure for the Porcupine Caribou herd, lobbying in
Washington and in Ottawa around the preservation of the Porcupine Caribou
herd, or being part of a national northern lobbying effort, all these issues are
tied to fundamentals around tradition and culture and were the driving force
behind VGFN land claim negotiations. While socio-economic impact con-
trol, economic participation and environmental monitoring can be effectively
realized where comprehensive claim settlement agreements are reached and
implemented, self-government takes it to another level (Notzke 1994:220).
The former Territorial official also remarked in their interview (on the topic
of the VGFN):
I think the essence of First Nations' self-government agreements being
part and parcel of the claims process is that it established inter-govern-
mental relationships. It wasn't a community working with government,
it wasn't a collective of individuals or it wasn't individuals working with
government, it was governments working with governments.
Put differently, self-government means indigenous peoples are recognized as
governments and relate to other orders of government as governments. They
are no longer simply wards of the state or stakeholders in development but
participants in the decision-making process that affects their people, in their
communities, on their land, across the Canadian Arctic.
Conclusion
It can be argued that the power of self-government agreements, like the power
of human security and all that it entails, lie in their potential to transform the
lives of Aboriginal peoples. While each of these examples highlight agree-
ments that provided land and cash compensation, what differentiates them is
one key element: self-government. Self-government therefore is critical not