Charlie Watt receives honorary doctorate from McGill University

The large crowd that gathered to celebrate this year’s McGill University graduates witnessed something special when one of the school’s new honorary doctors started his acceptance speech in Inuktitut. 

Charlie Watt has a lifetime of politics, activism and Inuit nation-building to his name and he helped lead Inuit of Nunavik from a traditional way of life to modern society. 

Now he’s an honorary doctor of law, one of 17 honorary degree recipients celebrated June 6 during McGill’s convocation ceremonies.

Honorary doctorates are the highest honours bestowed by McGill University. They are awarded to people who show “exceptional dedication” in improving the lives of others, according to a news release from the university announcing this year’s cohort.

“The McGill community is pleased to honour these extraordinary people who have each impacted and contributed to society in considerable ways,” said Deep Saini, principal and vice-chancellor of McGill, in the release.

Watt started his career with the former federal Department of Indian Affairs, founded the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (NQIA) in 1972 and was a major actor in negotiations around the James Bay hydroelectric development project.

The 78-year-old used his speech to highlight the importance for all governments to negotiate with Indigenous nations before starting any mining or hydroelectric development. 

The NQIA activists were among the first wave of young Inuit who attended higher education. They included Mary Simon and Zebedee Nungak. 

Allied to the Cree’s representatives, they convinced Quebec’s court in 1973 to issue an injunction that temporarily stopped the James Bay project. Two years later, that process delivered the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which became known as the first modern treaty between Indigenous nations and a “southern” government. 

“The government authorities of that time didn’t believe a bunch of Native activists would dare confront them,” said Watt after his speech at McGill. “But we did.”

Watt went on to become founder and then president of Makivvik Corporation, which manages assets for Nunavik’s Inuit.

Watt was appointed to the Senate in 1984 where he served 34 years. He also served on the board of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference until 1983, which later became Inuit Circumpolar Council. 

He counselled the Naskapi, an Indigenous group in northeast Quebec, in joining the JBNQA in 1978 and supported founding the Labrador Inuit Association, which gave birth to the Nunatsiavut local government in 2005. 

Now a great-grandfather, Watt told Nunatsiaq News he considers himself too young for full retirement and that he’s always planning new projects.