Indigenous peoples show support for Thule Inughuit

At a meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva this week, 200 representatives of indigenous peoples supported a resolution backing the Inughuit in Thule and their so-called Hingitaq 53 organization.

In 1953, Inughuit who live in the Thule district of northern Greenland were forced to relocate to Qaanaaq to make room for the U.S. air base in Thule.

The Hingitaq 53 group represents the interests of relocated Inughuit and their descendants in a legal action against the Danish government, asking for the return of their ancestral lands and hunting grounds or compensation.

The Danish High Court is expected to pronounce its judgment on the case later this year.

The resolution approved by the U.N. working group on indigenous peoples reads: “The indigenous peoples gathered at the 7th session of United Nations Commission of Human Rights Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, January 28 – February 8, 2002, unequivocally support the Inughuit of Thule, Greenland and Hingitaq 53 in their legal proceedings and demands for return of their ancestral lands and compensation for the adverse impacts caused by the illegal taking of land and forced removal and relocation of the Inughuit,”

The group is responsible for drafting a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.

Aqqaluk Lynge, president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Hjalmar Dahl, director of ICC’s U.N. related work, and Dalee S. Dorough from Alaska, a lawyer and an international expert in aboriginal law, are participating in the meetings.