Project Team
Project Leader:
- Sophie Thériault - University of Ottawa
Collaborators:
- Gail Fondahl - University of Northern British Columbia
- Florian Stammler — Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
- Aytelina Ivanova — Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
- Chief Vyacheslav Shadrin - Association of Indigenous Peoples of Yakutia
Students:
- Zoé Boirin-Fargue - University of Ottawa
- Sébastien Fournier - University of Ottawa
Research Project
Project Description
Over the past few decades, the Arctic region has been subject to increased attention from the mining industry. While the mining sector may generate economic benefits for the region and local and Indigenous communities, researchers have documented significant disparities in the distribution of mining wealth at the global, national, and regional levels, as well as within communities. Among the myriad factors that may explain the inequities in the distribution of mining wealth and benefits are the asymmetries in the legal and institutional arrangements that shape access to land and mining rights, provide for the (re)distribution of mining revenues, and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Law is central to generating opportunities for Indigenous individuals and collectives to benefit from mining. This project aims to describe, analyze and compare the legal frameworks in different Arctic jurisdictions (Canada, Sweden, Norway, Greenland (Denmark), Finland, Russia, and the United States) with the view to:
- document how different mining regimes structure access to land and minerals;
- analyze the extent to which the concerned jurisdictions recognize and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the context of mining development;
- analyze and compare the different avenues in place for Indigenous communities to benefit from the mining wealth extracted from their traditional territories, including royalty systems, joint venture, employment and business opportunities, and “negotiated justice” mechanisms, such as Impact and Benefits Agreements (IBAs) and compensation resulting from socio-cultural impact assessments;
- propose institutional and legal changes that would increase Indigenous Peoples’ agency in mining development within the concerned jurisdictions, and foster a more equitable distribution of mining wealth to their communities.
Our research will apply both structural analysis and critical legal geography approaches to evaluate and compare the legal and institutional frameworks pertaining to mining development and Indigenous peoples’ rights in the selected Arctic jurisdictions.
The project will involve traditional legal research methods, including the identification and analysis of constitutional and statutory laws, international norms, court decisions, governmental policies, treaties and land claims agreements, pertaining to mining and Indigenous peoples’ rights in each of the selected jurisdictions, legal anthropology for studying the consequences and implementation practices of laws on the ground for indigenous inhabitants, as well as the analysis of the relevant literature in law and social sciences disciplines. Methods of comparative legal analysis will be used in order to draw-out convergences and divergences among the different legal regimes, and to identify the legal and institutional frameworks that are the most likely to promote more equitable distribution of mining wealth for Indigenous Peoples.
Geographical Areas
Alaska
Canada
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Russia
Objectives, Axes and Work Packages
Objectives
A. Describe
B. Explain
C. Imagine
Axes
1. Current state of wealth distribution
3. Towards a more equitable distribution
Work Packages
1.4. The state as regulator and agent
3.1. Institutional changes
3.2. Indigenous perspectives on development
