Introduction. Employment in Inuit Nunangat

The study of labour in Inuit Nunangat occupies a critical yet underexamined place in the interdisciplinary scholarship on the Arctic. While considerable attention has been devoted to questions of sovereignty, environmental change, Indigenous governance, and resource extraction, comparatively less sustained analysis has focused on the lived realities of Inuit labour, employment, and economic participation in the contemporary North (Southcott et al. 2022). This special issue seeks to address that gap by foregrounding Inuit experiences of work, labour mobility, relations between Inuit and Qallunaat institutions and workers, and workplace transformation, with emphasis on Nunavut and Nunavik. The contributions gathered here emerged from discussions initiated during a session organized at ArcticNet’s Annual Scientific Meeting in December 2024. The session brought together scholars, community researchers, policy practitioners, and Inuit organizations to reflect on contemporary transformations in labour and employment across Inuit Nunangat. The conversations highlighted the need for interdisciplinary and community-engaged research capable of addressing the rapidly changing political and economic landscape of the Arctic while giving voice to Inuit perspectives and priorities. The timing of this special issue is significant. Across the Arctic, renewed geopolitical attention to northern security has intensified international interest in the region. Heightened concerns over sovereignty, military presence, and strategic infrastructure are reshaping political and economic priorities in northern jurisdictions. At the same time, Inuit and Indigenous autonomy remain contested in different Arctic contexts, including in Greenland, where ongoing debates over governance, extraction, and international influence raise broader questions about the future of Indigenous self-determination in the circumpolar world (Vold and Inutiq 2026). These developments reverberate throughout Inuit Nunangat, as questions of labour and economic participation here are increasingly linked to broader geopolitical transformations. Parallel to these security concerns is an accelerating race for northern resources. Governments and industries are renewing their focus on mining, energy, shipping corridors, and infrastructure development across the Arctic, framing northern economic development as both a strategic and an economic imperative. As recent studies have argued, these developments risk narrowing understandings of Arctic economies down to wage labour and extractive industries alone (Rodon et al. 2025; Coates 2026). Such narratives can obscure or marginalize alternative forms of economic activity that remain foundational to Inuit livelihoods and well-being, including land-based activities, cultural production, and mixed subsistence economies (Hall 2021). As Inutiq, King and Fox (2024) remind us, dominant policy frameworks often invisibilize these forms of labour, despite their central importance to community resilience and social reproduction. A critical examination of employment in Inuit Nunangat therefore requires attention not only to formal labour markets, but also to the broader economic relations that sustain Inuit life. In Nunavut, recent discussions surrounding a fuller devolution of powers from the Federal government raise important questions regarding Inuit employment and labour force development. Devolution may reshape the distribution of authority and employment opportunities within territorial governance, while also exposing tensions related to training, language requirements, workplace culture, and Inuit representation in senior administrative positions. As Okalik Eegeesiak argues (this issue), a central theme around employment issues is the tension between collaborative and siloed approaches. Eegeesiak notes that Inuit organizations tend to prioritize holistic, cross-institutional cooperation, while government partners tend to operate within narrow mandates. This fragmentation persists today and is identified as a key structural barrier to progress. She further highlights the ongoing underrepresentation of Inuit in senior management roles, arguing that the fly-in fly-out staffing model is a serious concern, as transient southern workers often lack deep community engagement and displace Inuit from positions the territory is specifically designed for them to occupy. Language and culture remain inadequately addressed, as Inuktitut language education and culturally grounded training, vital …

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