From talking chiefs to a native corporate élite : the birth of class and nationalism among Canadian Inuit

From Talking Chiefs to a Native Corporate Elite traces the development of class relations and collective identity among Canadian Inuit over several centuries of contact with Western capitalism. Marybelle Mitchell provides a complete history of Inuit-white relations, starting with the first contact with European explorers in the sixteenth century and ending with ratification of the Nunavut proposal to create an Inuit homeland through division of the Northwest Territories. Contents Maps and Figures Preface Acknowledgments Organizations Illustrations PART ONE: CONCEPTUALIZING POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND IDEOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION 1 A New Perspective on Development PART TWO: FIRST CONTACT 2 At the Brink of Transition: Inuit Relationships at First Contact 3 Explorers and Itinerant Traders 4 The Whalers: Indigenous Practices Are Both Bolstered and Undermined 5 Traders, Missionaries, and Police: A Community of Interest 6 Economic, Ideological, and Political Transformation PART THREE: FROM TALKING CHIEFS TO A NATIVE COOPERATIVE ÉLITE 7 The Little Colombo Plan: The State Makes Its Presence Felt 8 The State Organizes Cooperatives for Eskimos 9 Canadian Arctic Producers: "A Business of Which There are Few Parallels" 10 Quebec Pursues a Separate Destiny 11 The Federal Government as Promoter and Gatekeeper of Inuit Art 12 The Northwest Territories Cooperatives Federate; Inuit Producers Gain Control of CAP, and Dorset Defects 13 Convergence: CAP and CACFL Amalgamate and Quebec and the NWT Shake Hands 14 Hunters Become Producers of Arts and Crafts: The Effect of the Cooperative on Inuit Work and Means of Production 15 From Talking Chiefs to a Native Cooperative Élite: The Movement towards Class Relations 16 Nationalism and the Articulation of Capitalist and Indigenous Practices PART FOUR: LAND CLAIMS AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS 17 Native Land Claims in Canada: A Push by the State to Promote Nonrenewable-Resource Exploitation 18 Development Corporations Challenge the Cooperatives and Complete Relations of Dominance 19 From Hunters and Fishers to Directors and Shareholders: Transformed Relations and Transformed Mode of Production 20 The Drive for Ethnoregional Rights: Resistance and Containment PART FIVE: A TRANSFORMED MODE OF PRODUCTION 21 The Struggle for Dominance Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Mitchell demonstrates the transformation of relationships -- both between the Inuit and Europeans and among the Inuit themselves -- that has occurred since contact with the West, focusing on the intersection of class and nation. This intersection provides a unifying framework to order the history of Inuit-European contact. At the heart of the book is a detailed and original presentation of the Inuit cooperative movement. Mitchell's skilful blending of primary sources with personal experience and secondary literature provides a compelling analysis of the Inuit co-op as a development tool used by the state. In the final chapters, she provides an astute evaluation of contemporary Inuit land claims, concluding that the Inuit have been unequally incorporated into the Canadian class system because of their ethnic status and lack of capital. Growing nationalism among the Inuit and demands for self-government make From Talking Chiefs to a Native Corporate Elite a timely and important addition to the field of Native studies. It will be of great interest to both scholars and general readers.