Northern Perspectives

Publisher:  Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, Ottawa, Canada
Year Published:  1973
Pages:  26pp   Price:  Free   Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX875

The Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) has met three of its seven objectives: to report on any research related to Northern development; to compile background material needed to educate the public concerning the environmental effects of development; to publish pertinent information relating to Northern development and the Arctic.

Abstract: 
The Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) has met three of its seven objectives: to report on any research related to Northern development; to compile background material needed to educate the public concerning the environmental effects of development; to publish pertinent information relating to Northern development and the Arctic.

The major concerns of Northern Perspectives and CARC are land and native land claims. The Indians of the MacKenzie Valley realize that the treaties they signed were the way the English could cheat them of their lands. Secondly, as the land is a source of oil, conflict is arising between the people and those who want the oil. The Indians want to protect their land rights and hope to do so through negotiation with the government.

The Inuvialuit have also confronted the problem of land rights in a joint position paper by the Committee for Original People's Entitlement (COPE) and the Canadian government. The Inuvialuit have four goals: 1) to preserve their culture and values; 2) to enable equal and meaningful participation in the economy and society; 3) to provide for specific rights and benefits 4) to protect and preserve Arctic wildlife.

Basic to these goals is the Native concern for their land, which they say they will select according to at least two criteria: 1) lands that are important for their biological productivity, i.e. life supporting and 2) lands that offer economic opportunity, i.e. tourism, but not lands that have proven oil reserves. The natives of the Canadian north are thus hoping to protect their own lands, and their own values and culture.