My research in Norway would allow me to complete two essential chapters of my dissertation on the World Council of Indigenous Peoples (WCIP), as well as improve the entire work generally.
The first chapter would compare the support of two international development agencies - the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) - for the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. By investigating the different reasons behind shifting patterns of funding, as well as the restrictions placed on its use, I would be able to show how state policies influenced and contributed to the movement of Indigenous internationalism.
The second chapter will examine the efforts of Indigenous groups in Canada to grant asylum to tw o Indigenous activists who fled with their families to Canada as refugees under very different circumstances: Constantino Lima, a Bolivian Aymara and Nils Somby, a Norwegian Sami. The World Council of Indigenous Peoples was at least indirectly involved in both instances. My comparing these two cases, I will be able to investigate what happened when the ideas of Indigenous internationalism were put into practice.
More generally, the participation of the (Nordic) Sami Council in the World Council of Indige nous Peoples was fundamental to its success. This involvement is best illustrated through the activity of Aslak Nils Sara, a Norwegian Sami who helped to establish the organization in 1975, and served as a vice-president for nine years, organizing the six th WCIP General Assembly in Tromsø, Norway in 1990. My research in Norway will investigate both Sara and the Sami Council's contributions to the WCIP.
Finally, the academic connections that I build in Norway will facilitate future academic engagement bet ween Sami Studies scholars and Indigenous Studies scholars here in Canada, particularly with regards to the history of Indigenous internationalism.