# Towards Human Security in the Arctic: Lessons Learned From the Canadian Rangers

Magali Vullierme

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Magali Vullierme. Towards Human Security in the Arctic: Lessons Learned From the Canadian Rangers. Arctic Yearbook 2019, 2019. hal-04345020

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# "Towards Human Security in the Arctic: Lessons Learned From the Canadian Rangers". In Heininen, L., H. Exner-Pirot and J. Barnes (eds.) (2019). Redefining Arctic Security: Arctic Y...

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Magali Vullierme

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# Towards human security in the Arctic: Lessons learned from Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers

Magali Vullierme

This research aims at identifying elements that might create an enabling environment for the protection of human security in Canada's Arctic communities. Human security aims at protecting individual(s) against physical or non-physical, violent or non-violent threats (environment, health, development or well-being). In order to assess the current human security in Canadian Arctic, this research analyses the relational dynamics within Canadian Rangers patrols, which are composed of Indigenous people under the responsibility of non-Indigenous instructors. It focuses on Nunavik, where communities suffer from many risks related to the concept of human security, and analyses a corpus of 21 qualitative interviews and field observations conducted in 2016 and 2017. Data interpretation reveals that the Canadian government indirectly strengthens human security of its Arctic communities through Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols - Canadian Rangers' youth counterpart. This strengthening of human security in Canadian Arctic communities results from a three-step process based on balanced and respectful relationship dynamics between Inuit Rangers and non-Inuit instructors, allowing Canadian Rangers patrols and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols to act as a source and a guarantee of human security.

## Introduction

Developed by scholars in the early 1990s, the concept of human security aims at protecting individual(s) against physical or non-physical, violent or non-violent threats. Apart from threats linked to armed conflicts, it includes non-traditional threats to environment, health, development or well-being, for instance (Buzan, Waever & Wilde, 1998; Colard, 2001; David & Roche, 2002; Alkire, 2010; Battistella, Petiteville, Smouts & Vennesson, 2012).

The scope of human security generates many debates that fall outside the scope of this article (Boutros-Ghali, 1992; Gore, 2000; King & Murray, 2001; Krause, 2001; Rioux, 2001; Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, 2006; Fukuda-Parr & Messineo, 2012). For the purpose of this article, I focus on the broad definition of human security, given by the 1994 Human Development Report (HDR) (United Nations, 1994). This definition classifies threats to human security into seven categories: community security (threatened by tensions between ethnic groups, loss of

Magali Vullierme is a postdoctoral Researcher Fellow at the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin (CEARC, France) and the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM, France), and Associate Researcher at the Observatory of Artic Politics and Security (OPSA, QC, Canada).
traditional culture etc.), economic security (threatened by unemployment, poverty, loss of home etc.), environmental security (threatened by pollution, desertification, salinization etc.), food security (threatened by hunger, deficiencies etc.), health security (threatened by injuries, diseases, malnutrition etc.), personal security (threatened by torture, domestic violence, rape, suicide etc.) and, finally, political security (threatened by political repressions, control of information etc.).

As a strong supporter¹ of human security, Canada largely mobilized this concept in its foreign approach within peacekeeping operations and protection of human rights. However, “although human security is a people-centred approach to foreign policy, it can also be viewed as an approach to domestic policy” (Slowey, 2013: 190).² This domestic approach seems particularly relevant in a context where Indigenous peoples suffer from risks partly originating from federal policies of assimilation applied in residential schools and of forced settlement, as the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) underlined it in 1996 (Government of Canada, 1996)³ while criticizing Canada's contradictory attitude:

> We believe firmly that the time has come to resolve a fundamental contradiction at the heart of Canada: that while we assume the role of defender of human rights in the international community, we retain, in our conception of Canada's origins and make-up, the remnants of colonial attitudes of cultural superiority that do violence to the Aboriginal peoples to whom they are directed (Government of Canada, 1996: 15).

In addition, several academics have already advocated the analyses of contemporary Arctic security through human security lenses (Owen, 2008; Hoogensen Gjorv, Bazely, Christensen, Tanentzap & Bojko, 2009; Hoogensen Gjorv, Bazely, Goloviznina & Tanentzap, 2013; Exner-Pirot, 2012; Greaves, 2016; Hossain & Petrétei, 2016). As Owen (2008) explains, regions of developed countries suffer from the most severe threats to human security, particularly “many northern Indigenous communities” (Owen, 2008: 447). As an answer, successive Canadian northern policies referred to vocabulary related to the concept of human security, such as “well-being”, “development”, “unemployment”, or “fight against suicide” (Government of Canada, 2009 & 2017; Exner-Pirot, 2012; Landriault, 2013; Lackenbauer & Dean, 2016). But how is human security applied in practice? How does it work at the operational level? This article assesses the current mobilisation of human security in the Arctic at the Canadian domestic level.

To determine whether this concept is currently mobilised in the Arctic, this research analyses relational dynamics within Canadian Ranger patrols and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols in Quebec. Even though they work closely together on a daily basis, Canadian Ranger patrols and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols depend on different administrations. The former is a subcomponent of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the latter is a youth development program. Located in remote, sparsely inhabited and isolated areas of Canada, Canadian Ranger patrols are mainly composed of Indigenous men and women under the responsibility of non-Indigenous instructors (2 CRPG, 2016a, 2016b; Lackenbauer, 2006, 2007 & 2013; Kikkert & Stern, 2017). Part of the Rangers' core mission is to demonstrate Canadian sovereignty, although they also train with Regular and Primary Reserve forces, conduct search and rescue (SAR) operations and are responsible for Junior Canadian Rangers patrols (Defence Administrative Orders and Directives, 2015). Intended for Indigenous youth aged 12 to 18, the Junior Canadian Rangers program was officially launched in 1996 to fight suicides. The program develops traditional skills, life skills, and Rangers skills (National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman, 2016) and is
focused on the Prevention of Harassment and Abuse through Awareness and Education (PHASE) program. As a “culturally and geographically-sensitive program”, PHASE “teaches Junior Canadian Rangers about different forms of harassment (personal, racial, sexual, emotional), abuse (physical, sexual, neglect), and appropriate forms of discipline. PHASE also deals with substance, solvent and alcohol abuse, and teenage suicide” (Junior Canadian Rangers, 2018).

This inductive and exploratory research focuses on Canadian Ranger patrols and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols from Nunavik, a region located in Northern Quebec. It interprets a corpus of 21 interviews and field observations conducted in 2016 and 2017 in Aupaluk (Nunavik, Quebec, Canada)⁴ and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Quebec, Canada). I interviewed members of the 2 Canadian Rangers Patrol Group (2 CRPG), which is responsible for Nunavik – ten Rangers (R-1 to R-10) and eleven instructors or other ranked officers (M-1 to M-11). I analysed this corpus applying an inductive approach resulting in a threefold codification conducted with the software *Atlas.ti*.

Data interpretation revealed that Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols strengthen human security of Nunavik communities – although this interpretation has potential broader applicability across Canadian Arctic.⁵ This strengthening results from a three-step process: (i) as a first step, my results reveal balanced relationships between Rangers and instructors of a same patrol. This balance derives from the adaptation of Canadian Armed Forces and of their trainings to Indigenous cultures. It also results from instructors' willingness to work with Indigenous culture, from their open-mindedness and their humility; (ii) then, as a second step, I identify a respectful approach to Indigenous culture. Indeed, according to data, balanced relationships in those patrols seem not to be detrimental to Indigenous culture. On the contrary, illustration of instructors' assimilation – albeit limited – were identified in the data analysis (especially the relationship to time). In addition, data reveals numerous elements reinforcing Inuit agency, which explains communities' active support towards this unique military subcomponent; (iii) finally, the third and last step relates more directly to human security. Thanks to these balanced relationships and this respectful approach, those patrols act as a source and a guarantee of human security, strengthening several categories of human security in Arctic communities.

We will examine further the details of these three steps.

## First step: Necessary balanced relationships

According to my first result, balanced relationships exist between Rangers and instructors of a same patrol. This first necessary step derives from a structural adaptation of the patrols and from a personal adaptation of their members.

### Balanced relationships through structural adaptation

According to data interpretation, the current balanced relations between Inuit and instructors result from three elements related to the structural adaptation of Canadian Rangers patrols.

First, patrols result today from decades of adjustment carried out by the Canadian Armed Forces. Rangers' structure and trainings were adjusted to take into account the specific communities' livelihood (Lackenbauer, 2013; Kikkert & Stern, 2017). For example, the strict military style was partially abandoned, especially the training schedules, to better take into account the cultural dimension. As R-10 said: "At first, they were doing the way they were supposed to do in the Army
but sometimes, that does not work, sometimes we have to tell them how we do it in the North.”
Another example is linked to the strict hierarchical military decision-making process, as R-4
explained: “Rangers did not appreciate how strict it was or how... sometimes the military from the
South were overbearing and they didn’t take the advice of the elders.”

Second, according to both parties, many similarities between the Inuit world and the military world exist. Most of the time, participants mentioned “family”, “courage”, “respect”, “team work”, and “integrity” as shared values. According to M-1, “When communities see that ‘I respect you, I listen to you, I hear you, and we share our knowledge instead of asserting it’, there is no conflict… On a military base, everyone works together; everyone helps each other (…). You have to listen and share. Life on the Arctic field, under a Ranger tent, is the same. You have to build, to be autonomous, to use field resources, and to adapt.” This value of helping and listening to each other appears crucial to develop balanced relationships.

Third, patrols function currently thanks to the regular inclusion and consultation of members. Decisions are taken by consensus, particularly after asking the elders. For instance, they are systematically consulted to discuss the best itinerary or the best way to perform an exercise; similarly, as observed on the field, the whole patrol is also included when it comes to order new equipment. This decision-making process differs completely from the hierarchy military model and appears central for the patrols. Thanks to these regular consultations, patrols seem to structurally work with mutual exchange, hence enabling balanced relations.

## Balanced relationships through personal adaptation

These current balanced relationships between Inuit and instructors depend also on two elements linked to personal adaptation of one part of their members: Ranger Instructors. Indeed, data show that the proper operation of the patrols seems closely linked to the adaptation of the instructors to Inuit culture – and even more to their ‘assimilation’, as illustrated in the second step – rather than to the adaptation of the Inuit to military culture.

The first element relates to instructors' ability to adapt and “not to judge”, and many participants reiterated that the Rangers were “not for everyone.” At 2 CRPG, “if you stay more than 10 months [or between 6 and 18 months according to M-5], the standard is that you'll stay forever” (M-10). To sum up, “we volunteer twice⁶: when we arrive and when we leave, because to date, nobody got fired. And we become quite experts with Indigenous culture in the long run.” In addition, all participants emphasized that Ranger Instructors must be “open minded”, “able to adapt”, and “humble” (M-5, M-7). This is especially important since a 2 CRPG instructor may be required to work with different Indigenous people (Inuit, Innu, Cree, etc.), requiring even more personal adaptation.

The second element derives from instructors' motivations to join 2 CRPG. Along with the fact that 2 CRPG reservists benefit from full-time assignments, instructors explain that they join the Rangers to “challenge” themselves and to “go out of their comfort zone” by working with civilians, furthermore Indigenous civilians. For others, working with Indigenous people is clearly the reason they joined: some wanted to try traditional ways-of-doing; others to learn from another culture. These motivations show instructors' willingness to personally adapt to Indigenous culture, and more specifically, Inuit culture.

## Conclusion
As illustrated by my data, patrols function thanks to balanced relationships resulting from two specific adaptations.

The historic evolution of patrols structures has allowed for a better understanding between instructors and Rangers. Participants' remarks highlight that the 'classic' military style did not seem to work within patrols. This balance also results from similarities between these two groups. In addition, regular inclusion and consultation of Inuit members in decision-making processes is central. Only with time and consideration of cultural and human differences in patrols structure did the patrols find their balance.

Data showed that cooperation within the Canadian Rangers also requires personal adaptation of instructors. Participants indicated several capacities necessary to understand and accept cultural differences within this military sub-element (adaptability, humility, open-mindedness). In addition, the discovery of new cultures is one of the most frequently cited reasons by instructors to come to work at 2 CRPG.

To conclude, a first necessary step to strengthen human security is balanced relationships. However, how are working those balanced relationships on a daily basis? Are those patrols also respectful to Inuit culture? Are they a modern tool to assimilate Inuit further?

## Second step: Respectful approach to Inuit culture

According to my second result, balanced relationships within patrols are not detrimental to Indigenous culture (see also Vullierme, 2018). This second step follows the mobilisation of two important concepts: assimilation and agency.

In my data, even though I identified discourses linked to assimilation, those data relate to the (limited) assimilation of non-Indigenous Ranger Instructors rather than of Inuit Ranger(s). Before going further, one must not forget the painful history of forced assimilation endured by Indigenous peoples through much of Canadian history (evangelization, residential schools, and forced resettlement). That being (very briefly!) reminded, many cultural differences still exist and when someone goes “up North”, s/he has to adapt to a different culture. In the past, this led to the adaptation of Canadian Ranger patrols (see step one); today, this leads to a limited assimilation of Ranger Instructors. However, this limited assimilation obviously results from a completely different process than the one endured by Indigenous peoples. In this case study, assimilation refers to

> a process of interpenetration and fusion in which persons and groups develop memories, feelings and attitudes towards other persons or groups; and, by sharing their experience and their history, they build a common cultural life. Since assimilation reveals this sharing of tradition, this intimate participation to common experiences, it is a central phenomenon in historical and cultural process. (...) Imitation and suggestion lead to a progressive and unconscious modification of attitudes and feelings of group members. The resulting unity is not necessarily univocal; it results more from a set of experiences and orientation allowing the development of common goals and actions (Park, 1924. Quoted in Schnapper, 1998: 194).

By witnessing Inuit experience, history and tradition, instructors modify progressively and (un)consciously their memories, attitudes and feelings towards Inuit people, allowing the development of a common cultural life with goals and actions as a Rangers patrol.
Apart from this limited assimilation, participants' interviews also reveal how patrols strengthen Inuit agency. Briefly said, agency is the human capacity to intentionally influence the course of one's life and actions, as well as to influence others, collective action systems, or the social and natural space (Bandura, 1989, 1994, 2001). Inuit agency reinforcement also explains their active support towards this unique military subcomponent.

## Respectful approach through instructors' 'assimilation'

Data analysis revealed three elements of Ranger Instructors 'assimilation' to Inuit culture.

First, working within the Canadian Rangers allows Ranger Instructors to better understand differences between Indigenous peoples. During interviews, several instructors admitted mingling Canadian Indigenous peoples (i.e. Inuit, First Nations, and Métis). For instance, before joining 2 CRPG, several instructors were unaware of the differences of life in Inuit communities and life in First Nation reserves. As M-5 underlined: "At the beginning, like almost everyone, we believed: 'we know, Indigenous peoples do not pay taxes' and everything. (...). People will sometimes criticize, they will judge those people but most of the time, they just don't know."

Then, patrols show the high capabilities of Inuit Rangers. According to Ranger Instructors and to outsiders, patrols' abilities are remarkable. A huge part of the Rangers' strength (both individually and collectively) derives from their everyday "skills and expert local knowledge" (Lackenbauer, 2013: 14). My data confirm this, since several instructors communicated strong admiration towards "their" Rangers.

Finally, by spending time with Inuit Rangers and getting to know them, instructors develop a very close relationship with their Rangers, which leads to the 'assimilation' of parts of Inuit culture. I predominately detected Ranger Instructors' 'assimilation' to Inuit culture with the relationship to time – an essential component of Inuit culture. For instance, as M-9 said: "In the North, you cannot ask them to hurry up, to run, it is not normal. They will do it if it is a matter of life or death, if someone is injured, in that case, they will hurry up. Otherwise, why hurry up? We will do things slowly and we will do things right. It is a different world when it comes to that." This relationship to time, already identified by previous scholars (Lackenbauer, 2007; Kikkert & Stern, 2017) has been a persistent theme during the Canadian Rangers' seventy-year history, and the organization has adapted to this cultural reality as already underlined in step one (see also Lackenbauer, 2013). Some instructors also assimilated Inuit styles of education, especially M-7 who explained how he "brings back home" educational tools that he discovered while working with his patrols: "Learning by experience. So they will watch and do. I brought that back home and I am happy about that. I have a good mix, I think."

## Respectful approach through Inuit agency

Patrols strongly reinforce Inuit agency, since Canadian Ranger patrols are closely linked to Indigenous person's will, as shown by the three following elements:

First, agency is illustrated either when Inuit join a patrol, when they participate in training exercises, and/or when they choose to leave the organization. Indeed, volunteering to serve as a Ranger derives from a personal choice; consequently, a Ranger could quit training or operations or leave a patrol in case of disagreement. This has happened in the past when conflicts occurred (Lackenbauer, 2006).
Then, according to Inuit participants, the main reason why they join a patrol is to help their families and communities. As highlighted by R-5, Ranger training allows them to save lives: "personally, for me, it is to gain knowledge on survival or rescuing, helping people, to get trained, to protect... just in case something happens to [my] family and [my] friends." R-3 also talks about the important role of Rangers: "I just want people to be safe and normal... Sometimes they are hurt and they cannot walk. They are hurt because we get very cold very fast... It is very special because everybody has to be OK... until we find them... very special people... we have to search." Accordingly, while Rangers interviewed are very proud to be part of the military, their answers emphasised more the central role played by patrols in SAR operations and in the protection of their community with the Juniors.

Finally, Rangers' agency is also revealed by the Junior Canadian Rangers programme. As R-4 shares, this programme was launched at the instigation of Inuit leaders since it started in 1995 as an unofficial programme financed by Kativik, the regional government in Nunavik (see also Lackenbauer, 2013: 365). Launched in 1996, the Junior Rangers have expanded since, numbering 4421 youth in 141 patrols across Canada as of 2016 (National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman, 2016). This expansion also reflects Indigenous peoples' agency since the implementation of a Junior Rangers patrol in a community derives from individual initiatives, as explained by R-7.

## Conclusion

As illustrated by my data, patrols apply a respectful approach to Inuit culture thanks to two mechanisms.

Data highlight limited assimilation of Ranger Instructors. This assimilation results from a better understanding of Canadian Indigenous peoples. Patrols also reveal the remarkable capabilities of Rangers patrols. Finally, instructors develop a very close relationship with their patrols, allowing them to assimilate parts of Inuit culture, namely the relationships to time and educational tools.

This respectful approach also results from the active contributions of Inuit, as active agents, in Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols. Indeed, Inuit join Canadian Rangers patrols, participate in training and exercises for Search and Rescue, or create and support a Junior Canadian Rangers patrol to be better trained, to save local lives, and to help youth in their communities.

This second step is necessary to create balanced relationships based on respect for Inuit culture. But do these balanced relationships and respectful approach also strengthen human security?

## Third step: Strengthening of human security categories

According to my third and final result, these balanced relationships and this respectful approach within patrols helps to strengthen several categories of human security in Arctic communities. This third and last step reveals how Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers act as a source and a guarantee of human security, thanks to the concept of self-efficacy deriving from Bandura's agency theory (Bandura, 1989 & 2001). Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability – or group ability – to influence events; this belief affects that person's life and control over his or her experiences.

“A strong sense of efficacy enhances human accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways. People with high assurance in their capabilities approach difficult tasks as challenges to be
mastered rather than as threats to be avoided” (Bandura, 1994: 71). Hence, self-efficacy, like human security in its broad sense, is related to the well-being and to the fulfilment of each individual (personal self-efficacy) or of a group (collective self-efficacy). However, if self-efficacy is a source of well-being, the concept of human security guarantees it. Hence, self-efficacy seems needed to strengthen human security, as demonstrated below.

## Patrols as a source of human security

According to my data, patrols are a source of human security thanks to the deepening of personal and collective self-efficacy beliefs within Junior Canadian Rangers patrols and Canadian Rangers patrols, as detailed below.

Canadian Junior Rangers reinforce personal and collective self-efficacy of Juniors and of the community as a whole. Three elements illustrate this in my data. First, qualified as a 'safe place' by participants, Junior patrols play a key role for the youth since they are frequently the only entertainment facility available in the communities. Then, Junior patrols work particularly on youth personal development and fulfilment. For example, leadership and public speaking exercises organised during summer camps help them feel confident, thus reinforcing their personal self-efficacy. Finally, Junior patrols lead to a positive spin-off for communities, since the program shows communities' abilities as a group to mobilize the necessary motivation, resources and behaviours to develop in the best ways, contributing indirectly to collective self-efficacy.

Canadian Rangers also play a role in personal and collective self-efficacy reinforcement, as shown by two elements. First, this role seems closely linked to SAR training. For instance, R-1 joined the Rangers “to have more knowledge about search and rescue. It is really important. This situation can happen again sooner or later. It is really important not to lose someone during a search and rescue”. Ranger Instructors also underlined the “positive impact [of Rangers]. Yes, because, when they are called in for a SAR, we know we can count on them” (M-7) – either when they are called in as local ground SAR team, or when the Rangers patrol is activated for long SAR operations. Then, several data also refer to the importance of resources (GPS, maps, compass) and their technical apprenticeship. According to Inuit respondents, this apprenticeship allows the enhancement of their “tool box” thanks to the interaction between “modernity” and local knowledge. Rangers add technical knowledge learned during trainings to field, orientation and survival knowledge learned in family. In my corpus, these two sets of knowledge, far from being opposite, complete each other and are used simultaneously depending on the weather. As R-10 sums up, “It is working very well. The training that we received and the local knowledge... when you put together the two cultures, the military culture and the Inuit culture, you sort of mix them together and you find unity.” Witnessing their important abilities during SAR operations, patrols enhance personal and collective self-efficacy of the Rangers.

Trainings and resources received by the Rangers allow them to be more efficient and to be seen as trustworthy persons able to save more lives. This directly impacts their personal (as Ranger) and their collective (as patrol) self-efficacy.

## Patrols as a guarantee of human security

Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols also guarantee human security, since they directly or indirectly protect several 1994 HDR human security categories.
Data highlights how patrols directly guarantee personal security. Briefly said, personal security could be threatened by domestic violence, abuse, rapes or suicide. In this research, participants' vocabulary can be directly linked to personal security, particularly while speaking about youth suicides and the Prevention of Harassment and Abuse through Awareness and Education (PHASE) program. Indeed, youth suicide was largely mentioned by participants, as highlighted by M-8:

> If we give up Junior program, it would be a disaster! Because... Go up north, check on the other kids... At the end of the day, according to me but also to the others, we make a difference up there... In the Junior program, in Quebec, suicide rate is less than 1%. So, it is important, right? I only heard about two or three suicides...

Implemented as an answer to this issue, the PHASE program remains a key tool to combat suicides, abuse and harassment, and accordingly, to strengthen personal security.

Patrols also play a direct role in strengthening community security. As already underlined in the introduction, community security is threatened, for example, by the loss of traditional culture and loss of intergenerational bonds. Two interdependent dynamics arise from my data. First, and even though Rangers and Juniors are administratively separate, close ties exist between those patrols: Rangers are responsible for Junior Rangers weekly meetings; some Rangers used to be Juniors; others launched the Junior Rangers patrol of their community; finally, Ranger Instructors are responsible for the Junior Rangers during specific events (summer camps, recruitments of new Juniors). As a corollary, these close ties help transmit culture and rebuild intergenerational bonds broken by the Canadian government in Indigenous residential schools. Apart from the crucial preservation of Inuit culture, keeping the knowledge is a key point for Canadian Rangers patrols, especially for SAR operations (field and survival knowledge) (M-1). According to the data, this rebuilding is partly possible through the organisation of activities and summer camps, and through meetings with adults and elders. Working closely together, Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers are rebuilding intergenerational bonds within communities. This rebuilding reduces the risk to community security by transmitting and preserving traditional culture.

Finally, patrols indirectly secure three other categories: economic, food and health security. Primary, Junior Rangers program could reduce threats to economic security by encouraging youth to attend school (M-5) and university (M-11). This encouragement to stay at school and to attend university might impact on the long run on the economic security of Juniors and of communities as a whole. Indeed, economic security is, for instance, threatened by unemployment, which is a reality in most Canadian Arctic communities. That being said, having diplomas does not guarantee employment if there are no jobs available in communities. Secondly, some of my data can be linked to food and health securities. As a reminder, food security is the access to healthy food at a reasonable price and can be threatened by hunger or deficiencies. Access to food at an affordable price is not an option in Inuit communities. Transported by planes or by boats, products are three to four times more expensive than in the South. The most affordable food in the cooperative (the local grocer) is mainly crisps, which impacts the health security of Inuit (increase of high blood pressure, malnutrition) (Fergurson, 2011; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014; Greaves, 2016). One of the main domains of the Junior program deals with land skills ("Rangers skills"). Junior Rangers summer camps are built upon several outdoors activities, one of them being fishing tours – an instructor even explains that he witnessed the first catch of a Junior during a summer camp. Within Ranger patrols, part of the training is devoted to hunting and fishing, since
those activities are closely linked to survival skills in the tundra. As a result, Junior and Ranger patrols could reduce food and health insecurity of Inuit communities in the long run.

## Conclusion

As demonstrated, patrols strengthen human security categories thanks to two dynamics.

Patrols are a source of human security for Arctic communities. The Junior Canadian Rangers program works on personal and collective self-efficacy of the youth and the community, in particular by working on personal development. The Canadian Rangers also strengthen personal and collective self-efficacy by showing the abilities, the values and the accomplishments of the Rangers, but also the importance of preserving Inuit knowledge and culture.

Patrols are also a guarantee of human security for Arctic communities, since patrols help reduce several risks to human security. Some of these risks are directly mentioned in the data (personal security, community security); while others are indirectly identified (economic security, food security).

## Overall conclusion: Strengthening of human security through a three-step process

Through an inductive and exploratory analysis of relationship dynamics between Inuit Rangers and non-Inuit instructors, this article illustrates the current human security of Canadian Arctic communities. This domestic approach of human security shows that the strengthening of human security results from a three-step process based on balanced and respectful relationship dynamics between Inuit Rangers and non-Inuit instructors, allowing Canadian Rangers patrols and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols to act as a source and a guarantee of human security. This strengthening is a consequence of these patrols, without being their official mandate. Indeed – and even though there are many references to community well-being in official documents about the Arctic – this strengthening does not originate from a federal policy focused on human security. According to this exploratory research, the Canadian government thus indirectly strengthens human security of its Arctic community through its Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols.

Beyond the Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers patrols, this study identifies several elements that create an environment conducive to cooperation between populations of different cultures. Thus, for such cooperation to work in the long term, it is necessary to build the relationships on structural and personal adaptation leading to mutual respect, balanced sharing of knowledge and inclusion of both cultures and of both parties in decision-making processes. As shown in my research, this implies, for instance, that each individual must be open-minded and able to adapt or, even more, be ready to assimilate into part of the culture of his or her counterpart, when living in or visiting the environment of the other party.

## Notes

1. Mainly promoted by Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2000.

2. See also: Tadjbakhsh, 2005; Kaldor, 2006.
3. See also: Robelin, 2003; Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015.

4. Aupaluk, located in Ungava Bay, is the smallest community of Nunavik with about 200 inhabitants.

5. To consult similar conclusions within Rangers patrol from Nunavut (1 CRPG), see Lackenbauer (2007) and Kikkert & Stern (2017).

6. Ranger Instructors from 2 CRPG are reservists, which is not the case for other CRPG. For instance, Ranger Instructors from 1 CRPG are part of the Regular Forces and, as a result, are posted in Nunavut communities.

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