Indigenous Peoples in the Americas

Speakers: Donat Savoie (Canada) and Søren Hvalkof (Denmark)

Donat Savoie (former Chief Federal Negotiator, Canada)

Self-government in the Canadian North: Creation of the Nunavik Regional Government - Innovative Project and Challenges

On 5 December, 2007, an unprecedented step took place for the establishment of the Nunavik Regional Government by the signing of an Agreement by Pita Aatami, President of Makivik Corporation, which represents the Inuit of Nunavik (Northern Quebec), the Minister of Native Affairs of the Government of Quebec, and the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada. The signing ceremony took place in the National Assembly of Quebec in presence of Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec, who also signed the Agreement. This Agreement represents a very important move towards the assumption of greater responsibility by Nunavik communities. The presentation will provide the political and historical context of this innovative governance project, the impact on the Inuit of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement signed in 1975, the present governance arrangements and institutions in Nunavik, the impact of the report of the Nunavik Commission in determining the scope and vision of the project, the main elements pertaining to the Nunavik Regional Government, the future steps in the process and the challenges that lie ahead. For a full CV, please see below.

Søren Hvalkof (Senior project researcher, DIIS)

Indigenous Peoples and Land Rights in Latin America

Taking off from the demographic catastrophe brought about by the European conquest of Latin America, the presentation will give a general introduction and a historical overview over the development of indigenous society and indigenous peoples’ access to land in Latin America. It discusses some of the cultural differences between indigenous and non-indigenous ontologies and how these relate to the political dynamics of the indigenous movement vis-à-vis the state. The social and economic differences between indigenous peasant societies in the highlands of and those of indigenous societies in the tropical lowlands will be drafted, with reference to case studies from the Andean highland and the Amazon region. Special emphasis will be put on recent indigenous collective land titling processes, which radically have changed the political scenario and the relations of power in areas with large indigenous population, reinforcing the indigenous movement and civil society participation. Also recent neo-liberal reforms launching large scale land privatization programs supported by the multilateral development banks will be mentioned. Finally, the impact of indigenous collective titling on the tropical forest environment will be discussed based on recent case studies, highlighting the challenges of ongoing climate change and international climate change policies. Søren Hvalkof is a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies and a senior consultant at Nordeco, the Nordic Agency for Development and Ecology. His research interests cover a broad range of topics from political ecology and the environment to frontiers, land tenure and titling in Latin America. He is currently involved in a project on territorialization, governance and conservation in eastern Peru.

Registration: Please send an email to csa.eng@cbs.dk no later than 3 March, if you wish to participate.