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the end, it was an all-or-nothing game - the gender parity proposal was to be
accepted or rejected in referendum, a right to participation as a way of over-
coming voicelessness to be implemented or not. Perhaps the idea of human
security, which calls attention to the particular historical, cultural and social
circumstances of individuals and collectives in a certain place and forces us
to think about the individual and collective embodied experience of security,
is a more empowering and useful concept that can measure a spectrum of
experience from insecure to secure. Perhaps those experiencing insecurity can
describe and perhaps even address the roots of insecurity more simply and
accurately than they could describe the more abstract and all-or-nothing state
of being a rights-bearer. Therefore, the concept of human security, rather
than just an idea, might be a speech-giving practice that allows people to talk
about their own experience on their own terms and to point to areas requiring
improvement and change. In a society of speakers, however, there would need
to be institutions required and appropriately designed to listen, and such a
model is outlined in the subsequent section.
Moving beyond 'our rights' in 'our land':
Inuit governance in Nunavut
Human security discourse is applicable to a full range of Inuit experience
across the Arctic. Issues such as climate change and food security, particu-
larly in regards to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), present real threats to
Inuit livelihood. These threats have obtained international recognition within
academia and politics, and have supported Inuit in their political work. For
a discourse on human security to create roots within the circumpolar, discus-
sions surrounding the security of Indigenous governance must be included.
One way to evaluate a possible compatibility is to consider whether human
security discourse can support the revitalization of Indigenous governance
processes. Jackie Price considers this question by examining the various
requirements of public dialogue in Nunavut.
In Nunavut, political processes and the dialogue it supports are in a cur-
rent state of conflict. As highlighted by Irlbacher-Fox, this conflict is a result
of the continued presence of colonial political structures in the Inuit home-
land. In Nunavut, the effectiveness of colonial structures, such as the Nunavut
Land Claims Agreement (NLCA), to support or represent Indigenous govern-
ance practices must be critically assessed in order to move beyond the cyclical
nature of this conflict.
Diluting the call for critical engagement are the very political discussions
on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, which seeks Inuit support within the NLCA
political systems. 18 In the previous section, Wilson Rowe outlined the com-
plexity of negotiating a direct relationship between these two systems with
her overview of the gender parity debate. This debate represents an attempt
 
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