Research summary
Arctic waters are essential to the identity, survival and rights of Indigenous Peoples—but the international laws that govern these waters have long excluded Indigenous legal traditions. Current frameworks, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, were developed without the involvement of Arctic Indigenous communities and fail to reflect Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, values and rights.
As Canada Research Chair in Circumpolar Indigenous Marine Governance and International Law, Dr. Violet Ford is legitimizing and advancing Arctic Indigenous legal orders on marine governance. Known as the Sedna Project, this work seeks to lay the foundation for a decolonized Arctic marine legal framework that includes Indigenous legal remedies. By providing legal tools that support Indigenous advocacy at national and international negotiation tables, Ford and her research team aim to foster self-determination and set a precedent for meaningfully embedding Indigenous rights in binding international law.