The impact of mining development on subsistence practices of indigenous peoples: Lessons learned from northern Quebec and Alaska.

The Arctic region is increasingly viewed as an important resource-base, and is being explored for its resource development potential. While many researchers in the 1960s suggested that northern populations would eventually transition from a traditional, subsistence-dominated economy to a modern, wage-based economy, more recent studies reveal that the traditional economy remains important, desirable, and of benefit to northern individuals and communities. In this thesis I explore the relationship between traditional and modern economic activities related to one resource-based sector in the Arctic, the mining sector. Specifically, I explore the relationship between northern mining developments and subsistence activities and values in two Arctic regions, Canada's Nunavik region in the Province of Quebec and the United States' Northwest Arctic Borough in the State of Alaska. The purpose of this study is to answer the following question: does mining development in the Arctic lead to an increase or decrease in the importance of land-based subsistence participation and activities of local indigenous peoples. This study draws upon recent data that was collected in the Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic (SLICA), an international project that comparatively studies aspects of living conditions for the Inuit, Inupiat, Saami, and Indigenous peoples of Chukotka. Four mining projects are utilized as case studies in this project, in order to help explain the findings from the results of the SLICA analysis. Two of these projects are currently in full operation, and two are presently in planning and approval phases. In Nunavik, the Raglan Mine and the proposed Raglan South Nickel Project are examined, and in Alaska, the Red Dog Mine, and its proposed Aqqaluk Project expansion are addressed.