Inuit groups bid farewell to a Nunavik pioneer

Jacob Oweetaluktuk, second from left, was a key figure during ITK’s 40th anniversary conference in November 2011, and participated in a panel discussion with other founding members, including Tagak Curley and Meeka Kilabuk. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavimmiut are mourning the death of Inuit leader Jacob Oweetaluktuk, who passed away Oct. 31 at the age of 76.

Oweetaluktuk of Inukjuak was one of the founding members of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada — now known as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami — the same organization that paid homage to him in a Nov. 4 statement.

“Jacob Oweetaluktuk was an inspiration to Inuit as a young man, and as an elder, he showed us the way forward as we looked to chart the next 40 years of ITK,” said ITK president Terry Audla. “His words guided me during my life, and they live on in the work of our organization.”

During the group’s first gathering in 1971, Oweetaluktuk pushed for Inuit across Canada to come together as one.

“We have to find an organized voice amongst ourselves so we may direct our lives the way we want them to be,” Oweetaluktuk told the meeting.

“Now is the time to act so we may control ourselves in the kind of life we would like to have in the future. It is for these main reasons I think we are here at this very moment.”

Oweetaluktuk later joined the Northern Quebec Inuit Association as secretary-treasurer, where he played a role negotiating the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. He went on to work for the organization’s successor, Makivik Corp. in different capacities, included as a Nunavik governor, a role he held from 1993 to 2012.

In a Nov. 4 release from Makivik, president Jobie Tukkiapik called Oweetaluktuk “an extraordinary man,” who dedicated his life to the well-being of his fellow Inuit.

“He was not afraid to voice his opinion on regional and community issues and it’s people like him who put meaning to the [term] ‘a role model,’” Tukkiapik said. “He will be missed and his legacy as an Inuit rights activist will live on.”

Oweetaluktuk was a former director of the Kativik School Board, as well as a community broadcaster for CBC North.

He contributed to the CBC community news and opinion on the radio show Tuttavik for the last 15 years; his last broadcast took place only two weeks ago.

On the page of a Nunavik Facebook group, one woman wrote that Oweetaluktuk “always spoke what was in his mind, and he always tried to fight for what is right. He will be missed a lot.”

Oweetaluktuk leaves his children Nooma, Harry and Helen.