Women’s participation in decision making - Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic - page 222

Northern programmes and services. Within the early pages of this report,
one can still sense the isolation experienced by Inuit vis-à-vis the Federal
Government in the 1950s:
Many programs in our communities are imported from the south or other
aboriginal groups. We must seek our own solutions to improve our solu-
tions. Our ability to make our own decisions was taken away from us; we
must now take it back.
(Inungni Sapujjijiit 2003:10)
The recognition that Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is not the basis from which
decisions in Nunavut are made represents the inability of Inuit governance to
secure a solid place within colonial structures. If Inuit systems are to have a
rightful place in Nunavut, they must untangle themselves from institutional
systems. Nunavut communities can be an important support in this work, by
the action generated from their own dialogue.
Developing a Kitchen Consultation Model
The logistics of the Kitchen Consultation Model are straightforward. Under
this model, interested community groups, organizations or individuals
would lead the administration of the consultation. Ideally, the community
group would already have a presence in the community as a non-governmen-
tal organization in order to draw from the strength and experience already
gained, such as having an established presence in the community , 21 and
having the experience of addressing financial and reporting requirements . 22
Once a consultation mandate was accepted by a community organization, the
organization would then be responsible for determining what additional sup-
ports would be required to successfully represent the diverse perspectives of
the community. This model works from the assumption that different modes
of interaction would be used a number of times. Examples of interaction strat-
egies would include public meetings, radio call-in shows, group meetings
and individual interviews. The identification and selection of support staff
would also have to occur; specific roles that would need to be filled include
facilitators, translators, interpreters, transcribers and final proofreaders.
Organization or community members may fill these roles, and no one person
may necessarily be assigned to the same role as a new consultation process is
initiated within the community.
Currently, the majority of consultations occur by holding public meetings.
Public meetings assemble community members into one location to publicly
discuss a topic with political officials and/or representatives. I believe public
meetings are ineffective at supporting in-depth dialogue around a variety of
complexities due to logistical difficulties and unrealistic timelines . 23 Under
the Kitchen Consultation Model, public meetings would be given a more