Inuit Transnational Activism

Abstract

Inuit peoples have fostered and strategically strengthened their connections through transnational organizations such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). In turn, the Council has been active in state-based international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) and the Arctic Council, thereby expanding their diplomatic reach. At the same time, increased bilateral relationships between Inuit regions have supplemented and enriched the emerging network of Inuit diplomacy. Working through existing national and international institutions has also provided them with a greater degree of collective influence in both national and international policy making.

Inuit have their own definition of sovereignty.

—Aqqaluk Lynge, “Address to the Ministerial Summit of Arctic Oceans Agenda Item: Issues Relating to the Local Inhabitants and Indigenous Communities”