The conservation of wildlife species plays a profound part in development issues in northern areas. In recent years, northern wildlife management has become a complicated process of cross-cultural communication. This thesis begins with an outline of the relations between First Nations and Euro-Americans in the context of the dynamics between wildlife scientists and aboriginal subsistence-based communities. The current economic, social and political characteristics of subsistence systems are discussed. The emergence of co-management systems is described in a review of wildlife management institutions existing in northern Canada and Alaska. An analysis of the activities of the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (B-Q CMB) and the relative participation of traditional users and government wildlife scientists forms the core of an exploration of the nature of wildlife co-management. In order to understand some of the perspectives of local caribou-using communities within the co-management framework, interviews were held with members of the Inuit community of Arviat, Nunavut and the Sayisi-Dene community of Tadoule Lake, Manitoba. Finally, the general role of co-management institutions in securing the viability of communal property regimes is discussed with specific reference to the case of the B-Q CMB.

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