Long distance commuting has been an increasingly widespread vehicle for the integration of native labor to mines and oil ventures in northem Canada. This article attempts an explanation of how this process came about. The analysis proceeds with a study of the scenario of implementation, the analysis of the various interests involved, their motivations and circumstances. It results in an N.D.L.R.: Le titre de cet article était à l'origine: « Le navettage des travailleurs autochtones du Nord de la Saskatchewan : symbole et réalité de l'intégration des indigènes ». Le « néologisme » navettage, utilisé par l'auteur en guise de traduction du mot anglais commuting, n'apparaissait dans aucune des sources consultées. Le terme « migrations pendulaires » lui fut substitué car il représente la traduction française la plus courante du terme commuting. interpretation which contrasts with dualistic interprétations of the human geography of the Canadian north, as it emphasizes the interaction of private interests, the State, and indigenous peoples on the frontier of an expanding western capitalist society.