Reconnaissance identitaire et mouvement coopératif dans l’expérience des Inuit du Nunavik

Cooperatives operate in a multitude of regions and cultures. More than a secondary element, the cultural and identity aspect of cooperative development is at the heart of its development issues and its very definition. Indeed, historically, the establishment and development of cooperatives have been associated with important identity realities, as illustrated by the Acadian, Basque, Quebecois and Inuit cooperative experiences.  This thesis studies the experience of the 14 Nunavik cooperatives and their federation. Multiservice consumer cooperatives, whose members are almost all Inuit, they are the initiative of various actors (state, religious, store managers). The first cooperatives were established in the late 1950s and were quickly managed by the Inuit themselves. Coming to break the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company, the establishment of cooperatives in Nunavik also corresponds to a fundamental change in the economy and politics of the territory and the communities that live there.  Through some sixty semi-structured interviews and several on-site visits, this suggestive case study allows us to understand the contribution of the member cooperatives of the Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec (FCNQ) to the recognition of the persons’ and communities’ identities affected by their activities. By mobilizing Axel Honneth's theory of recognition and social freedom (2000. 2014) and the triple cooperative movement approach (Draperi, 2007), the analysis of the experience of Nunavik cooperatives reveals recognition expectations and effects associated with emotional recognition, legal recognition and the recognition of the contribution to society. These effects act on different types of capital, through means set up by cooperatives. Certain internal conditions specific to cooperatives also influence identity recognition of Inuit. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of cooperatives in terms of identity and cultural recognition. It accounts for the interweaving of the needs and aspirations of members and provides clarification of the definitions of these two central terms of cooperative theories. From the experience of the Nunavik cooperatives, we can see that the profound and concomitant consideration of the three cooperative movements (thought movement, social movement and business movement) produces recognition of the identity of individuals and communities. Cooperatives are a mean and a place of emotional recognition (by responding to basic needs and setting up a meeting place), of legal recognition (by means of democratic principles, mutual responsability and values of equality and equity) and of recognition of particularities and skills (through everyone’s participation in the achievement of a common mission and their education and training activities). Ultimately, they enable individuals and communities to exercise their social freedom and ensure respect of their dignity.

Keyphrases: Coopératives, Inuit, Nunavik, Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, Cooperatives, Inuit, Nunavik, Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, Identity recognition, Triple cooperative movement