At the dawn of self‐government: A comparative study of the views of the Evenk of Russia and the Metis of Canada¹

The author would like to thank the following people for their comments on this paper: Tom Pocklington, Menno Boldt, Nikolai Ssorin‐Chaikov, Gail Fondahl, Mary Louise McAllister, Ken Coates, and Bob Gilsdorf. Research for this paper was funded by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and by a Boreal Alberta Research Grant administered by the Canadian Circumpolar Institute. The author would like to thank the community members who gave generously of their time in the completion of the interviews.

Abstract

A framework is outlined for comparison of the views of ordinary members of aboriginal communities in Canada and Russia regarding the desirability of local self‐government. It is based on field research and interviews by the author in Gift Lake, Alberta and Tyanya, southwestern Sakha Republic. Interview questions were designed to elicit information on community attitudes regarding the importance of traditional values and practices, major contemporary problems, degree of commitment to and support for local political institutions, and primary goals of self‐government (cultural preservation vs. economic development).

Notes

The author would like to thank the following people for their comments on this paper: Tom Pocklington, Menno Boldt, Nikolai Ssorin‐Chaikov, Gail Fondahl, Mary Louise McAllister, Ken Coates, and Bob Gilsdorf. Research for this paper was funded by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and by a Boreal Alberta Research Grant administered by the Canadian Circumpolar Institute. The author would like to thank the community members who gave generously of their time in the completion of the interviews.