Insecurity and Indigenous Peoples: Comparative Experiences of Inuit in Canada and Sámi in Norway

Though International Relations has become increasingly ‘indigenized’ by recognizing the political salience of Indigenous peoples, the related field of Security Studies has not significantly incorporated Indigenous peoples either theoretically or empirically. This paper makes a contribution to fill this gap by undertaking a comparative examination of the roles of two Arctic Indigenous peoples – Inuit in Canada and Sámi in Norway – as ‘securitizing actors’ within their respective political contexts. Its findings suggest that while Inuit have actively sought to frame new and longstanding environmental and social challenges as security issues, Sámi have generally not employed security language when articulating social and political challenges. In addition to the empirical analysis, the paper offers a theoretical account for why Inuit seek to securitize serious challenges confronting them in their Arctic homeland, while Sámi, despite also confronting significant societal and environmental challenges in the European Arctic region, have not.