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This article argues that the construction of Indigenous nationalism is a political process in which traditional and historical models are evoked; gender roles are constructed; and symbols, customs, and political and social practices are selected in the assertion of the right to a homeland and self-determination. The author shows that the deliberative reconstruction of tradition mimics the rigid identity criteria demanded from Indigenous peoples by the nation state. In the case of Nunavut this is expressed in the contested visions of tradition, gender roles, and the ongoing struggle to maintain Inuit identity and symbolic control within non-Inuit forms of governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]