NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: North Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, economics, land claim, government, political science, resource use

Objective(s): To dissect the Federal government's fiduciary obligation to First Nations, and to assess whether the Federal government is indeed fulfilling this obligation with Impact Benefit Agreements.

Project Description: The primary goal of this research is to dissect the Federal government's fiduciary obligation to First Nations, and to assess whether the Federal government is indeed fulfilling this obligation with Impact Benefit Agreements (IBAs) . Through a critical examination of IBAs, and an understanding of the State's position with regards to them, the goal will be to add depth to our understanding of the Political Economy of resource extraction in the Northwest Territories. This research will depend on interviews conducted in Ottawa with Aboriginal and Northern Affairs officials who have experience negotiating an IBA, and/or knowledge of IBA's and comprehensive land claims. As well, it will depend on interviews conducted in the Northwest Territories with government and First Nation representatives, who have knowledge of and/or experience with IBAs and comprehensive land claims. These interviews will be semi-structured elite interviews, of a duration of roughly an hour for each interviewee. The researcher would like to interview between 8 and 10 individuals in the Northwest Territories. Interviews will ideally be recorded using a tape recorder, but in the event that an interviewee does not feel comfortable with having it recorded, then detailed notes will be taken. A copy of the transcript will be sent to the interviewees immediately after the transcription. The researcher will give a period of 30 days for the interviewee to make any edits they wish to the transcripts, after which the transcripts will be finalized for my research. This research seeks to understand the relationship between comprehensive land claims agreements and Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) in securing access to Indigenous traditional territories. Through these two methods, the state and the private sector have been able to gain economic access to resources on First Nations territories. This research aims to establish a better understanding of the political context within which these state-sanctioned processes occur. This will hopefully provide some insights for some of the communities that are involved in the research. In working respectfully with these communities, they will hopefully benefit from the personal relationships that will be developed, as well. A copy of the completed thesis will be sent to the interviewees if they are interested in receiving one. The researcher will also be presenting the conclusions of the research at conferences, and may decide to even publish an article in a journal based on this research. The researcher will also express an interest in speaking to any of the interviewees, or any of the community members from their respective communities, about the conclusions of the research. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from September 8, 2011 to September 30, 2011.