Positioning ourselves

The document examines the structural exclusion of Inuit from Canada's federal climate policy and proposes a shift toward an 'Indigenous resurgence paradigm' to ensure equitable representation. It identifies barriers such as tokenistic engagement and the failure to differentiate between northern and southern regional needs. The study highlights existing frameworks, such as the National Inuit Climate Change Strategy and the Circumpolar Inuit Protocols for Equitable and Ethical Engagement, as essential guides for achieving Inuit-led climate justice.

• Canada's federal climate policy framework fails to distinguish between northern and southern regions, leading to a lack of strategies that address specific northern challenges such as permafrost degradation, infrastructure issues, and food insecurity.
• Engagement with Indigenous Peoples in federal policy development is often tokenistic, serving as a formality rather than a genuine partnership in decision-making, which undermines the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).
• The 'siloing' of engagement—prioritizing political organizations over grassroots and community-based groups—excludes vital perspectives, particularly those of youth and people living directly in affected communities.
• The National Inuit Climate Change Strategy (NICCS), introduced by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in 2019, identifies five priority areas: advancing Inuit capacity in decision-making, improving health and wellness outcomes, reducing food system vulnerability, closing the infrastructure gap, and supporting community-driven energy solutions for energy independence.
• The Inuit Circumpolar Council's 2023 protocols for equitable and ethical engagement establish eight best practices, including the principle of 'Nothing About Us Without Us' and the recognition of Indigenous Knowledge in its own right.
• Indigenous knowledge is frequently treated as secondary to Western knowledge, which leads to the misappropriation and exploitation of that knowledge during data collection processes.
• The primary obstacles to achieving Indigenous-led climate solutions include ongoing colonization, insufficient funding, and a failure to disseminate critical information directly to communities.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2024). Positioning ourselves. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/inuit-knowledge-climate-policy/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Positioning ourselves. 2024. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/inuit-knowledge-climate-policy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Positioning ourselves |date=17 June 2024 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/inuit-knowledge-climate-policy/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitute2024positioning, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Positioning ourselves}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/inuit-knowledge-climate-policy/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }