The Jackson School of International Studies was highly visible at the ACSUS conference in Las Vegas in October 2017. Nadine Fabbi, Canadian Studies Center, and colleagues Mark Watson, Concordia University, and Barry Zellen, Georgetown, co-chaired a successful section called “The North and Arctic Indigenous Peoples in Canada.” The section drew 17 scholars who discussed issues as diverse as borderlands in Arctic Canada, Inuit representation in films, security, governance, Inuit radio as a tool for community-driven change, and the Model Arctic Council as a way to build Canada–U.S. relations in the Arctic.
Morna McEachern, Pacific Northwest Canadian Studies Consortium, presented two papers: one on the annual Columbia River faculty field course co-sponsored by the Consortium and the Center.
Amy Delo and Brandon Ray, both MA students in International Studies, Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellows in French and Russian, respectively, and International Policy Institute Arctic Fellows, each presented a paper. UW’s 2015–16 Canada Fulbright Visiting Chair in Arctic Studies, Heather Nicol, Trent University, served on panels with the UW contingent.
Amy’s paper, “The Development of Native Nationalism, Aboriginal Self-Determination and Indigenous Internationalism in Northern Québec,” analyzes the evolving nature of Indigenous political mobilization in relation to the Québec independence movement. Brandon’s paper, “Arctic Indigenous Voices on Oil Development in Clyde River, Nunavut,” addresses the many approaches to natural resource development in the North. Brandon also participated in a roundtable discussion on the value of the Model Arctic Council in strengthening the Canada–U.S. relationship.