From language to clean energy, Aatami looks forward
Inuit self-determination at the centre of Makivvik president’s goals for the future
Pita Aatami, president of Makivvik Corp., has three key goals for Nunavik: self-government, language revitalization and clean energy. (File photo by Cedric Gallant)
Pita Aatami wants to take back what he says was stolen.
“I say ‘stolen’ without any qualms,” the Makivvik Corp. president said in reference to the colonial push to build the James Bay hydroelectric project.
Looking back on the 50 years since the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, Aatami expresses pride in what Makivvik, the Inuit rights-holding organization in Nunavik, has achieved with the $90 million settlement that allowed a hydroelectric project to be built on Inuit lands.
But now his eyes are set on the future.
Aatami identified three goals during a recent interview: language revitalization, clean energy and Inuit self-governance.
Makivvik is working with the Avataq Cultural Institute to revitalize the use of Inuktitut, which he says remains relatively “strong” in Nunavik, compared to other Inuit regions.
Aatami said he hopes a recent $38 million injection of funding to Avataq — $22 million from Makivvik and $16 million from the federal government — will help expand its use.
“When we lost our land, we lost a big part of our lives because of being forced to go to a residential school,” he said.
Looking toward clean energy, Aatami reflected on helping to create Tarquti Energy Corp. in 2021 and how the corporation is starting to show benefits.
Wind power in Puvirnituq and Quaqtaq will decrease those communities’ reliance on non-renewable energy.
He said it’s “sad” that there was no provision in the JBQNA for clean energy for Nunavik.
“All that power was going to be shipped south,” he said.
“They benefitted from this clean energy. But us? They made us stay with diesel fuel.”
With self-government, Aatami is looking down — into the ground.
Subsurface rights are a key part of negotiations, which will give Inuit the power to decide whether or not to greenlight future mining projects and reallocate benefits from those projects towards much-needed infrastructure, like longer runways, for example.
“Don’t look at what we have,” he said of Nunavik’s mineral potential.
“Look at what we don’t have.”
— With files from Jeff Pelletier
This article is part of Nunatsiaq News’ commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975.
This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.
Given all the Federal and Provincial over reach, self determination cannot be achieved. Nunavik is not ready, easy said is impossible done. Makivvik Executives are not living the Inuit reality that all Nunavimmuit have financial. Which have been forced to acclimate to both French and English languages since the JBNQA with very little assistance from elected representatives. Allowing all three languages to contribute to the future development would be the best revitalization of the JBNQA. Taking the rights of people because they don’t speak a language is racist as Québécois.
Clean energy? The airline company which bears your identity has the largest fleet of aircraft that have the highest pollution and noise levels in the industry. Very conflicted goals from a leadership that is expected to be experienced lifelong politicians.