ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses some of the main themes in International Relations including sovereignty, the state, and non-state diplomacy with a particular focuses on Inuit and Sami politics. The Sami in the Nordic Arctic have acquired a significantly distinct form of self-determination from Inuit in North America and Greenland. Most notably, the biggest difference between Sami governance and Inuit governance is that in the Nordic countries indigenous governance is managed by the state. The chapter turns to the Arctic Council and looks at indigeneity in a global Arctic. Global Arctic politics, likewise, particularly the politics relating to the Arctic's resources, has a long history beginning with its indigenous peoples who lived in and across the Arctic for thousands of years prior to European attempts to explore the region. In the Arctic, indigenous diplomacies pre-exist European discovery and consequently, operate below, above, and through the boundaries of individual states.
