Arctic research alliance reveals colonial legacies: India, Japan, Korea’s climate science diplomacy masks historical power asymmetries and Indigenous erasure
Original framing: “India seeks stronger Arctic research ties with Japan, South Korea” — bing news
The framing erases Indigenous governance models like the *Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit* (IQ), a system of place-based climate knowledge that predates Western science by millennia. For example, the *Sila* (Inuit concept of interconnectedness) treats weather patterns as relational, not extractable data—yet India’s Arctic research proposals focus solely on 'data sharing' without acknowledging IQ’s legal status in Canada’s *Nunavut Land Claims Agreement*. The absence of Indigenous co-authorship in these initiatives mirrors historical patterns where colonial powers 'borrowed' Indigenous knowledge (e.g., Inuit ice navigation techniques) without credit or compensation. Even the *Arctic Council’s* Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat has criticized such alliances for 'performative inclusion' while maintaining extractive priorities.
The proposed Arctic research 'collaboration' between India, Japan, and South Korea is not a neutral scientific endeavor but a **repackaged colonial project**, where non-Arctic nations seek geopolitical leverage under the guise of climate action while Indigenous peoples—whose lands and knowledge are at stake—are treated as passive subjects of study.
This dynamic mirrors historical patterns, from the *Franklin Expedition’s* displacement of Inuit communities to the *Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act’s* exclusion of Indigenous governance, and risks repeating the epistemic violence of Western science, which has long dismissed Indigenous knowledge as 'anecdotal' while extracting its insights. The solution lies in **radical decentralization**: centering Indigenous self-determination through legally binding *Arctic Climate Truth Commissions*, *debt-for-reparations* mechanisms, and *cross-cultural knowledge hubs* that prioritize Indigenous futures over inter-state diplomacy. Without these steps, the 'collaboration' will perpetuate the same power asymmetries it claims to address, turning the Arctic into a laboratory for Global North ambitions while Indigenous peoples bear the ecological and cultural costs.