Whose North?: Political Change, Political Development, and Self-Government in the Northwest Territories

251 Pages·1992·13.758 MB·English

by  Mark O. Dickerson

WHOSE NORTH?
The Northwest Territories is a distinct region constituting one-third
of Canada's land mass. More than just a vast storehouse for resources,
the territories are home to a diverse people, the majority of them Na-
tives, who possess deep-seated cultures that have endured despite
the harsh climate and pervasive influence of the dominant culture to
the south.
Residents of the Northwest Territories today face a number of
difficult political issues: land claims, division of the territories, con-
stitutional development, self-government, resources, and the estab-
lishment of their place within the Canadian federation. Whose North?
provides the context for a better understanding of these issues, and
it traces the evolution of an innovative, increasingly indigenous,
governmental process.
Mark Dickerson points out that within the NWT there is no unanimity
on the nature of the system of government. He addresses the politi-
cal tension between those advocating the continuation of a central-
ized government and those preferring a more decentralized form,
particularly self-government, whch many northerners view as the only
way of preserving their culture. Dickerson's depiction of the develop-
ment of the territorial government and his discussion of the tension
surrounding the choice of government will provide Canadians with
an opportunity to begin to understand just what is at stake in this
critical process.
MARK o. DICKERSON is a professor in the Department of Political Science
at the University of Calgary and a research associate of the Arctic In-
stitute of North America.
The Arctic Institute of North America is a multidisciplinary research institute
of the University of Calgary. Its mandate is to advance the study of the cir-
cumpolar North through the natural and social sciences, the arts and human-
ities; and to acquire, preserve, and disseminate information on physical and
social conditions in the North.
MARK O. DICKERSON
Whose North?
Political Change, Political Development,
and Self-Government in the
Northwest Territories
A JOINT PUBLICATION OF UBC PRESS AND
THE ARCTIC INSTITUTE OF NORTH AMERICA
UBCPress
VANCOUVER
©Mark O. Dickerson 1992
All rights reserved
Reprinted 1993
ISBN 0-7748-0414-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-7748-0418-1 (paperback)
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Dickerson, M.O., 1934-
Whose North?
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7748-0414-9 (bound). - ISBN
0-7748-0418-1 (pbk.)
1. Northwest Territories - Politics and government-
1951- *2. Native peoples - Northwest
Territories - Government relations* 3. Native
peoples - Northwest Territories - Legal status,
laws, etc.* 1. Arctic Institute
of North America, II. Title
FC4173.2.D53 1992 971.9'o3 c92-091252-4
F1o6o.92.D53 1992
Publication of this book was made possible
by ongoing support from The Canada Council,
the Province of British Columbia Cultural Services
Branch, and the Department of Communications
of the Government of Canada.
UBC Press
University of British Columbia
6344 Memorial Rd
Vancouver, BC v6T 1Z2
(604) 822-3259
Fax: [phone]
Printed in Canada
For Barbara
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Contents
Maps, Figures, and Tables viii
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
1 Political Change, Political Development, and the Crisis of
Legitimacy 3
2 Geography, Demography, Economy, and Cultures 11
3 Formulating Process and Policies: The Historical Dimension,
1920-50 28
4 Changing Policies, Not the Process: The Colonial Legacy,
1950-67 61
5 Changing the Political Process of the Northwest Territories,
1967-79 88
6 A More Autonomous Government of the Northwest
Territories, 1979-91 116
7 Self-Government and Political Development in the
Northwest Territories 168
Notes 193
Bibliography 211
Index 223
Maps, Figures, and Tables
MAPS
1 The Northwest Territories 13
2 Northwest Territories communities 24
FIGURES
1 Administrative organization of the Northwest Territories
and Yukon Branch, 1930 31
2 Government departments responsible for Native Affairs
and Northern Development 33
3 Organizational chart, Department of Mines and Resources,
1937 34
4 Organizational chart, Lands, Parks, and Forests Branch,
Department of Mines and Resources, 1937 35
5 Average raw fur value, Canada, 1919-20 to 1964-5 54
6 Organizational chart, Department of Northern Affairs
and National Resources, 1953-4 64
7 Organizational chart, Department of Northern Affairs
and National Resources, 1963-4 65
8 Distribution of pupils by grade and ethnic origin, NWT
schools, January 1965 73
9 Infant mortality rate, NWT, 1955-67 78
10 New active cases of tuberculosis, NWT, 1961-7 79
11 Acreage held under oil and gas permit, Canada lands,
1950-66 81
Maps, Figures, and Tables ix
12 Organizational chart, GNWT, November 1979 92
13 Executive branch of the GNWT: evolution to responsible
government, 1967-79 93
14 Executive branch of the GNWT: evolution to responsible
government, 1980-91 121
15 Evolution of administrative responsibilities, 1979-89 123
16 NWT Department of Education links to the communities 131
17 Chronology of major housing programs in the NWT,
1952-86 137
TABLES
1 Expenditures of departments responsible for northern
administration 33
2 Education/school expenditures, NWT, 1923-50 (Northern
Affairs) 39
3 Statement of education expenditure, NWT, 1920-50 (Indian
Affairs) 40
4 Summary of school statements, NWT, 1920-50 41
5 Average cost per pupil based on total enrolment and
average attendance for the NWT (1920-50) and Alberta
(1920-51) 43
6 Hospital and medical service expenditures, NWT, 1923-50 47
7 National health and welfare expenditures, NWT, 1945-50 49
8 Relief and supplies for the destitute, NWT, 1920-36 50
9 Protected wildlife areas, NWT 52
10 Administrative expenditures in the NWT, 1953-66 66
11 Operation and capital revenues and expenditures of the
GNWT, 1965-6 68
12 General elections: council of the NWT, 1951-64 70
13 Per capita personal cash income for the NWT and
selected provinces, 1963 82
14 General elections: Legislative Assembly, NWT 118
15 Operations, maintenance, and capital expenditures of the
GNWT, 1967-92 124
16 Expenditure summary by program, 1987-8 to 1991-2 126
17 Value of metals and fuel shipments from the NWT, 1977-89 127
18 High school enrolment and graduates, NWT 128
19 Designated education committees and societies by super-
intendency and education division, 1978-87 132
20 Male and female labour force activity by ethnic group
in the NWT 144