Regions: Gwich'in Settlement Area, North Slave Region
Tags: social sciences, government, politics, northern perspective
| Principal Investigator: | Kikkert, Peter J (1) |
| Licence Number: | 14507 |
| Organization: | University of Waterloo |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2009
|
| Issued: | May 08, 2009 |
Objective(s): This project will examine NorthernersÆ perspectives on how the Arctic Council might be enhanced to better serve circumpolar stakeholders in the twenty-first century, and how Northerners can be better engaged in priority-and agenda-setting on the domestic level.
Project Description: This licence is being issued for the scientific research application No.1044. This project will examine Northerners’ perspectives on how the Arctic Council might be enhanced to better serve circumpolar stakeholders in the twenty-first century, and how Northerners can be better engaged in priority-and agenda-setting on the domestic level. The researcher plans to conduct first-person interviews (approximately 45 minutes long) with the representatives of a number of Northern Aboriginal groups in Yellowknife, Inuvik and Ottawa, and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in Ottawa. These interviews will be conducted in person and will be informal and qualitative. They will not follow any fixed guidelines. Participants will be recruited via e-mail. Although the researcher will work from a pre-conceived list of questions, he wishes to avoid predetermining “key” issues and ideas. Thus, he will adopt a more free flowing approach to facilitate narrative. Participants will be encouraged to share stories in narrative form and share ideas that go beyond the preliminary objectives and goals of this study. Such an approach will allow for the integration of themes of interest and importance to the participants that were not previously identified by the researcher. These interviews will be tape recorded, with the consent of the participant(s). Participants will have the right to shift off the tape recorder at any time, or ask that the tape be destroyed if they are displeased with the interview at its conclusion. This research has the potential to reach an audience in the form of a publication in an academic journal or a conference paper. If it can be disseminated, this project will bring northern ideas for increased cooperation in the Arctic to a southern audience and increase awareness on a number of contemporary issues stemming from circumpolar politics. It will also bring the northern perspective to a southern audience. Interviewees will be provided with an opportunity to add, delete, or change statements as quoted prior to submission and publication of data. This will be done by sending them copies of applicable sentences and paragraphs by mail, fax, e-mail or by discussing quotes with them directly by telephone. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted in May 10 to 31, 2009 in Inuvik and Yellowknife.
