Former teacher Jerry Komaksiutiksak
wants to be NTI president

Nunatsiaq News is publishing profiles of the 10 candidates in Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s May 27 presidential byelection.

A lifelong teacher and Inuit instructor says he he has the skills and experience to lead Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

“I am a very determined, disciplined and experienced individual,” Jerry Komaksiutiksak, 56, said in an interview Friday, adding that he has a strong mindset, but that he isn’t afraid to seek advice.

He said it’s his mission to further the goals of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. 

He cited a few parts of the agreement as priorities: Inuit employment levels in the territorial government, Inuit engagement in government contracts and Inuit involvement in land-use plans.

Of his career accomplishments, Komaksiutiksak said he was most proud of being a teacher. In the mid-to-late 1990s, he taught at Inuglak School in Whale Cove and Leo Ussak school in Rankin Inlet. He later worked at Tungasuvvingat Inuit in Ottawa.

“I worked extremely hard to become a certified teacher,” he said.

Originally from Chesterfield Inlet, he moved to Ottawa to work for the Nunavut Trust, a billion-dollar fund established as part of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

From 2013 to 2020, he worked at the Kingston Penitentiary while he lived in Ottawa, driving 150 kilometres each way. His job involved helping Inuit rehabilitate and avoid substance abuse, he said.

It also included working with prison administrators, psychologists, corrections officers and others in teaching them the cultural differences between Inuit and southerners.

At Baffinland Iron Mines Corp., he trained Inuit to work in the mines. Similarly, in his current job with Nasittuq Corp., which oversees the 47 radar sites that make up the North Warning System, he also trains Inuit.

He said his experience as a teacher and facilitator would be a valuable asset if he were to become president. There needs to be better communication between NTI and beneficiaries, he said, so they can be more involved.

Not enough Inuit know what the organization does, he said. They are not aware of the projects and services it provides, such as employment and business opportunities.

He also said he wants to prioritize elder care, a policy area he began to care about after taking care of his father before he passed away.

Komaksiutiksak said being president of NTI wasn’t just about working for beneficiaries. It’s also about being an Inuit ambassador to the wider world.