Baffinland Inuit - Sociopolitical Organization

In traditional Inuit society there was no active political level of organization. The kinship system operated to maintain Social control and resolve conflict. The leadership noted above was neither persistent nor acquired through any formal process. Most leadership was exercised most effectively only within the extended family. Territory did not carry political connotation or boundaries. Again, it was social organization that tended to limit or facilitate access to territory. There was no ownership of either land or resources. A tendency toward possessing "rights" to a particular territory was simply a function of the size of a social unit and the time in which it had persisted in the use of a particular territory. Rights to resources were part of everyone's heritage, and these rights were best expressed through the almost universal process of sharing. The lack of traditional political and leadership roles within the culture of the Baffinland Inuit has meant that the development of new political realities within the areas of land claims, self-government, or community organization has been difficult to create. Although young people have attempted to develop politically, it is still hard for them to express Leadership across a large segment of the population.