Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of paradiplomacy, Indigenous rights, self-determination, and Arctic governance by critically analysing the legal mechanisms that enable or constrain Indigenous participation in Arctic decision-making. It will explore how Arctic Indigenous peoples, through paradiplomacy and by exercising their participatory rights, navigate complex geopolitical landscapes through the “continuum of urgencies”, advocate for their rights, and contribute to sustainable development in the Arctic. The Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, engaging in paradiplomacy, share valuable Indigenous knowledge that can benefit the global community in the face of unifying existential threats and developed geopolitical instability in the region. This paper’s approach is grounded in the concept of “Two-Eyed Seeing”, which implies the co-production of knowledge from both Indigenous and Western perspectives and is based on Indigenous cosmologies and the plurality of ways of knowing. Despite the increasing recognition of Indigenous paradiplomacy, significant legal and political challenges jeopardise the Arctic Council’s work. The question arises: Is a subnational cross-border unit like the Saami Council capable of solving issues that national states are unable to settle? The paper discusses questions concerning the scope of participatory rights, the integration of Indigenous knowledge in governance structures, and the regulatory framework governing paradiplomatic activities. This timely research contributes to ongoing debates in international law on the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination in the Arctic.