Uranium and the Boundaries of Indigeneity in Nunatsiavut, Labrador

When the Labrador Inuit temporarily banned uranium development on their lands in Nunatsiavut in 2008, indigeneity and extractive development seemed to be incompatible. However, as this paper illustrates, the relationship between the two is more complex than a simple dichotomy. Throughout settler colonial history, both colonizers and Inuit have used ideas about indigeneity to support or impede resource development, and to justify, neutralize, or challenge attempts at economic and political control. The production of social categories and boundaries, as illustrated by the history of indigeneity in Nunatsiavut, has long been used for both hegemonic and counter-hegemonic purposes. Indigeneity and extractive industry have developed in tandem as functions of settler colonialism, and their relationship reflects this tangled history, as they exert diverse pressures on Inuit decisions about extractive development in Nunatsiavut.