This spring, the residents of Canada’s Northwest Territories will be voting in a landmark plebiscite, the result of which may well determine the lifestyles of the Native people of the region for generations to come. While some representatives of the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut are in favour of the deal, which would proclaim the new territory of Nunavut, others, Inuit as well as representatives of Indian groups, argue that its passing may limit the ability of the Native people to safeguard their culture. Whose North? provides the context for a better understanding of the political issues in the Northwest Territories, a distinct region which comprises one third of Canada’s land mass. Within this area a majority of the residents are Native people. Eighteen of the twenty-four legislators are Native. Their non-partisan, consensus style of government is a unique political jurisdiction in Canada. Mark Dickerson discusses such issues as land claims, division, constitutional development, self-government, and economic development and traces the evolution of the territorial government from being completely controlled by Ottawa to involving Native organizations. He points out that within the NWT there is no unanimity on the nature of the system of government and he addresses the political tension between those advocating the continuation of a centralized government and those preferring a more decentralized form. While the southern, predominantly white, population argues for the former, most northerners, the majority of whom are Native, prefer the latter. Self-government, they feel, would allow them more control over such areas as health, education, and economic development and is seen as the only way of preserving the Native culture. In many ways, the NWT is a test case and one of the most important social issues to be faced by Canadians in the twenty-first century. For Native people, it may determine whether they can indeed live in two cultures. Dickerson’s depiction of the development of the territorial government and his discussion of the tension surrounding the choice of government will provide students and researchers 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 Institute of North America. He is the author of a number of books on Canadian politics and on political change and development. .
