ABSTRACT
The way governments handle indigenous rights issues affects their foreign relations and the external standing of the societies that they represent. Although they do not normally favour formal secession, indigenous rights interests interrogate the premises of state and nationhood. Calls for enhanced autonomy, stronger self-governance, and options of self-determination by indigenous peoples attract international publicity and the attentions of governments. Some outcomes, such as Canada’s Nanuvut designation, invite positive comparison. Failure to manage indigenous demands can incur reputational damage that threatens attainment of external objectives. Pertinent are unresolved questions about whether ‘outsiders’, however defined, can make determinations ‘for’ indigenous peoples, or reach ‘final settlements’ over their continuing concerns (Fletcher, 1997: 419).
