Sophie Thériault

Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Policies: A Comparative Assessment of Indigenous Governance Models in Canada

This chapter examines the role and the limits of Indigenous governance institutions in mitigating and adapting to climate change through an assessment and a comparison of, on the one hand, the legal frameworks governing Indian bands in Canada and, on the other hand, the Labrador Inuit land claims agreement. The chapter focuses on a jurisdictional assessment of formal Indigenous governance institutions; it neither discusses the actual or potential role of Indigenous customary institutions and normative systems, nor details specific actions adopted by Indigenous communities to address climate change. Such research would require extensive qualitative field research, which is beyond the scope of this chapter. Moreover, as remarked in recent research conducted in four First Nations communities located in different regions of Canada, most Indigenous communities have not yet prioritized climate change due the multiplicity of competing urgent issues and challenges, lack of resources and expertise, and institutional constraints. This chapter focuses on the latter factor, the institutional constraints on the capacity of Indigenous communities to address climate change, in order to identify pathways for reforms to adapt institutions to shifting environmental conditions.