Okalik talks about sealskins in Alaska

Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik wrapped up a week-long tour of Arctic Alaska earlier this week, where he met community leaders, cultural representatives, and business organizations in Anchorage, Bethel and Barrow.

A GN press release says Okalik’s primary objective was to “explore ways in which Nunavut and the Alaskan aboriginal community can work together to advance the marketing of sealskins and the reduction of barriers promoting and selling of sealskin products in the United States.”

Last December, Okalik travelled to Washington, D.C., to tell U.S. officials about the harm caused to Nunavut by the U.S. Marine Mammals Protection Act, which prevents the importation of Canadian sealskin products into the U.S.

Later in this week, Okalik travelled to Dawson City, Yukon, for the two-day western premier’s conference.

While in Dawson City, Okalik planned to “continue to press Nunavut’s need for equitable infrastructure funding to his colleagues,” the GN press release says.