SELECTED THESES ON THE CIRCUMPOLAR ARCTIC

This study undertakes a comparative analysis of the efforts by indigenous peoples in Canada and Russia to become self-governing, with the intent of producing a theory which explains the origins and outcomes of the contemporary struggle for aboriginal self-government. It is argued that the struggle for self-government is a consequence of the social conflict between two disparate societies -- indigenous and modern-state. Through an analysis of the sociopolitical histories of the aboriginal peoples in Canada and Russia, the study argues that it is modern state building -- not colonialism -- that is the decisive historic factor which irrevocably shapes the political development of indigenous political communities, leading eventually to their quest for self-government. One of the most revealing findings of this study is that, despite the profound differences between Canada (liberal-democratic, capitalist) and Russia (authoritarian, state-socialist), the policies pursued by the state and the pattern of relations between the state and aboriginal peoples are strikingly similar.
The study makes three contributions to the scholarship on aboriginal politics: Theoretically, it advances a comprehensive explanation of the efforts by indigenous people to accomplish self-government -- origins and outcomes. At present, such a theoretical account does not exist and is urgently needed. Methodologically, it presents a comparative study of aboriginal politics within two very different societies -- a capitalist, liberal democracy (Canada) and a non-capitalist, authoritarian state (Russia). This study represents one of the first efforts to go beyond comparative studies among liberal democracies and, as a result, holds the promise of meaningfully contributing to our understanding of aboriginal politics. Substantively, this study offers a comparative study of the views of aboriginal people in Canada and Russia. In addition to interviewing community elders and political elites, extensive interviews were conducted among 'ordinary' community members in the Evenk settlement of Tyanya (Siberia) and in the Métis settlement of Gift Lake (Alberta) on issues related to their communities and self-government.'