Wistful thinking: Making Inuit labour and the Nanisivik mine near Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay), northern Baffin Island

Abstract

Cet article scrute le discours sur les Inuit en ce qui concerne les questions d’emploi et leur réponse à «ce qui était bon pour eux» à l’intersection de la pensée coloniale et postcoloniale des années 1970. Les tentatives visant à intégrer les Inuit à une économie industrielle moderne ont eu lieu juste après que ceux-ci aient abandonné leur mode d’existence basé sur la chasse et le piégeage pour s’établir dans de nouvelles communautés en développement dans l’Arctique de l’Est. Nous examinons la phase de planification (1970-1976) de la mine Nanisivik à Strathcona Sound, sur la pointe nord de la Terre de Baffin. La mine a été en opération de 1976 à 2002. En nous appuyant sur les travaux de James O’Connor dans les années 1970 et sur les concepts de légitimation et de fonctions d’accumulation de l’État, tout en utilisant les documents d’archives du ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Développement du Nord, et celui de l’Énergie, des Mines et des Ressources, nous explorons de quelle manière les Inuit ont été définis comme des «travailleurs en besoin d’emploi». En examinant le débat entre les responsables de ces départements, nous cherchons à savoir dans quelle mesure d’autres besoins, basés sur l’expérience de la mine de nickel de Rankin Inlet (1957-1962), sont restés insatisfaits. La résistance des Inuit à être définis comme une main-d’oeuvre et la relation entre les Inuit en tant que chasseurs et employés salariés sont explorées en référence à l’exploitation minière contemporaine au Nunavut.This article interrogates discourse about Inuit in relation to employment issues and the Inuit response to “what was good for them” at the intersection of colonial and postcolonial thought in the 1970s. Attempts to integrate Inuit with a modern industrial economy occurred after Inuit had moved, or been moved, from land-based hunting and trapping camps to new settlements developing in the eastern Arctic. We examine the planning stage (1970-1976) of the Nanisivik mine at Strathcona Sound on the northern tip of Baffin Island that operated from 1976 until 2002. Building on the work of James O’Connor in the early 1970s and concepts of legitimisation and accumulation functions of the State, and using the archival records of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, we explore the extent to which Inuit were constructed as “labour in need of employment.” In examining debate between officials of these departments, we seek to find out to what extent other needs went unmet, based on experience with the Rankin Inlet Nickel Mine (1957-1962). Inuit resistance to this definition and the relationship between Inuit as hunters and Inuit as wage earners are explored with reference to contemporary mining development in Nunavut

Natural Resource Development and Well-Being in Inuit Nunangat: A Scoping Review

“…Typically, employees in these types of situations relocate to wherever the next job is (Rixen & Blangy, 2016), but Indigenous people are strongly connected to their homelands (Chanteloup et al, 2018) and may not necessarily leave, or be able to leave, their home region. However, in other Inuit regions, Inuit employees and their families have historically felt the need to move after a mine closure (Cater & Keeling, 2013;Tester et al, 2013;Rodon & Levesque, 2015). It is important for the long-term sustainability and well-being of communities to understand what Inuit employees and their families will do for employment and residency in regions like Nunatsiavut after their main natural resource is fully exploited.…”

“…Whether IBAs and EAs have been eff ective tools for addressing the impacts of natural resource development on Indigenous health and well-being, has been the subject of several studies over the past decades (Cox & Mills, 2015;Jones & Bradshaw, 2015;Southcott et al, 2018) and, as a result, this study also includes what the literature says about Inuit IBAs and EAs. With signifi cant opportunity for future natural resource projects, and with current ongoing projects and a long history of developments (Cater & Keeling, 2013;Tester et al, 2013), along with a holistic view of health and well-being as described by ITK, the goal of this scoping review was to map the trends in the extent, range, and nature of available published articles examining the relationship between natural resource development and health and well-being in Inuit Nunangat. With the release of the National Inuit Strategy on Research (NISR) in 2018, which documented the historic exclusion of Inuit from research and the dominance of non-Inuit researchers in Inuit Nunangat (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2018b), this study also sought to document researcher backgrounds and Inuit inclusion and involvement in the literature.…”

The Community Readiness Initiative in Kugluktuk, Nunavut: Mining, neoliberalism, and state interventions in arctic Indigenous community development

“…The Nanisivik lead-zinc mine, located near Arctic Bay, opened in 1976 and operated until low mineral prices resulted in its closure in 2002 (Bowes-Lyon et al 2009). The mine has been criticized for its contribution to Inuit assimilation into the wage economy and for its failure to adequately respond to social concerns regarding mine closure (Tester et al 2013;Lim 2013).…”