Northern Lights conference cancelled over NunatuKavut involvement
ITK, Inuit organizations raise concerns about non-rights-holding group’s participation, according to Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director
Northern crafts are available for sale at the 2023 Northern Lights Business and Cultural Showcase in Ottawa. The biennial event has been indefinitely cancelled, organizers announced Tuesday. (File photo by Cedric Gallant)
A major conference and trade show that brought together political and business leaders from across the North has been cancelled.
The Northern Lights Business and Cultural Showcase won’t happen next year as scheduled due to concerns about the involvement of the NunatuKavut Community Council, a non-rights-holding group that identifies as Inuit from Labrador.
The Northern Lights event has been held every two years, starting in 2008, and was set to take place again in February in Montreal.
In a joint news release, the organizers — Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce and Labrador North Chamber of Commerce — cited the changing “sociopolitical environment and relationships across the North” as one of the reasons for the cancellation.
Speaking to Nunatsiaq News, Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director Chris West said his organization received concerns from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the four Inuit treaty organizations about NunatuKavut taking part in the event.
NunatuKavut has had a presence at previous Northern Lights shows, including last year’s as a luncheon sponsor, according to West.
“We received a letter of concern from ITK stating that if NunatuKavut Community Council was involved, that [ITK] would not be and it would affect the relationship with all the Inuit organizations under them,” West said.
“We’ve received tremendous support from [the Inuit organizations] for all of the events we do, and by pulling out of Northern Lights it hopefully shows … the level of respect that we have for where they are coming from.”
ITK president Natan Obed was not available for an interview Tuesday, but a spokesperson said in an email that ITK and the Inuit treaty organizations have been “transparent” about their positions regarding NunatuKavut.
NunatuKavut Community Council president Todd Russell was also unavailable Tuesday.
Julianne Griffin, CEO of the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce, did not respond to Nunatsiaq News’ request for comment Tuesday.
ITK has long raised concerns over NunatuKavut’s claims of Inuit identity.
Last year, Obed penned a letter in which he called the Labrador group a “shape-shifting non-Indigenous organization.”
In response, Russell called Obed’s remarks “outrageous” and “defamatory,” saying his group’s 6,000 members are the “rightful beneficiaries of the British-Inuit Treaty of 1765.”
West said his organization’s mandate is not to be political, but to support economic development in the communities it represents.
Despite the fallout, he spoke of the important connections and benefits that came out of the Northern Lights events over the years.
In particular, artisans at the craft show at last year’s event in Ottawa earned more than $440,000 in sales, according to West.
He said his organization is looking at launching a new event, similar to Northern Lights.
“We feel it’s important to have these discussions and to create the partnerships that we’ve seen from Northern Lights, and we have many issues that are fresh on Nunavut’s agenda when it comes to housing, transportation, education, resource development and on and on,” West said.
Amazing to see such bigotry in defense of embedded privilege.
Like when the feds decided to assimilate us “poor ignorant savages” and civilized us through religion and gave Inuit the right to vote in 1955.
We(Inuit) became citizens and given disc numbers for identification.
I remember my disc number identification.
Labrador/NFLD “Canadian” call Inuit…”Jack ’em All”.
Sad story, keep wallowing in that, it’s about exactly as I expect from you.
Truth is Inuit have privileges they protect jealously as their most valuable commodity, a production not of skill or labour but identity. As with any commodity scarcity inflates value. In this zero sum mindset the NunatuKavut pose a threat because they expose a deep existential truth that Nunavut Inuit know very well, that the mixing of ethnicities over time have made that commodity—that identity—increasingly tenuous and subjective, a mirage that one day threatens to become meaningless altogether.
They hate and fear what they see, and what see is themselves…
Hey Pen, I remember my SIN number too.
Identity politics at play here.
There’s people that are maybe less than 1/8 inuit that have NTI cards how is this group any different? Where’s Trina “Mummilaq” Qaqqaq when we need her 😤
do our country a favor , go hunting on vote day . that lady did ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING! she cried once on tv… thats it. so GFY
M. Qaqqaq. Where are you?
Classic take your toys home and don’t play with the new kids.
But in this case I agree, don’t need the pretendinuks at the table
But that’s the thing – you have no voice at all in anyone else’s identity, just your own.
That’s not the way that this country works, identity is based on self-identification. Hell, look at the strength of the gender appropriation movement – you are what you choose to say you are – end of story.
Not the same as gender identity, no one signs agreement with gender identity group. The pretend Inuit group trying to get a land claims going and cash in indigenous identity.
Johnny Oh Ima so enamored by entitlement he boldly proclaims who is and who is not among his tribe, it is for him to decide.
Great. We don’t accept Nunatukavut
The word *Nunatukavut* don’t make sense, maybe they meant to say *Nunatuqavut* so no, just the prononciation is not accepted, cause the word is already wrong…
Labrador inuttitut uses K or cra over q. Labrador inuttut does not use syllabics and in its Roman orthography form NunatuKavut is its proper spelling. The word which means our ancient land came from Nunatsiavimmiuk Mary Adams.
Yeah but thats not how they pronounce it themselves when we hear it on tv
It isnt about blood quantum
Pathetic behavior, so much positive out the window because of ” If they are invited and willing to sponsor I am not coming or sponsoring” reminds me of middle school behavior. Way to go ITK and whoever else went along with this childish behavior. Tremendous financial opportunities lost to Inuit because of pathetic leadership. I feel sorry for Mr. West and his team, they have done a spectacular job with this event over the years only to have it ruined by egotistical ( or test *cle or less ) so called Inuit leadership. Truly a brown bag moment.
If ITK is genuinely concerned, why didnt they purchase all the sponsorship opportunities and exclude NunatuKavut? It’s time to put your money where your mouth is, ITK. Your actions have negatively impacted numerous Inuit businesses and opportunities across the North, all for the sake of a power struggle.
Here’s a newsflash: the businesses don’t care about the politics—they just want to get to work! Maybe ITK could do the same!
if we are being technical politically, it would most likely be whether or not the Nunavut Agreement & NTI accepts the group know as “Nunatukavut” as an Inuit organization. the british-inuit treaty mentioned in the article is protected by the Canadian Constitution, but it does not mention being acknowledged by NTI or Nunavut Agreement.
only way to find out is if NTI comments on this Group
Nunatukavut actually identified as a Métis group up until recently. All of a sudden they became Inuit. Search up the history of them. There was even a recent court decision saying they are not an indigenous group.
The meaning of ‘metis’ has been changed significantly since its early use. However we all know it signifies mixed ancestry, which when you look objectively at it you’ll notice many Nunavut Inuit (at least) fall into this category. Ironic really.
The 1765 Inuit-British treaty Nunatukavut is always talking about doesn’t actually seem to exist. That’s one red flag among many with this group of people.
You mean this?
https://nunatukavut.ca/about/treaty-of-1765/
That isn’t a treaty, just dubious NCC corporate literature referencing questionable events and documents that don’t seem to be corroborated anywhere else. Part of the make believe propping that organization up.
All Inuit in Canada need to be united against Nunatukavut. They just got 24 million dollars for a centre- but they are not Inuit. All Inuit pay attention. the liberal party is propping up this fake group. they need to be shut down period. Inuit identity is not a commodity for yt politicians to use to rob Inuit money like that to make yt settlers Inuit!
So in 2015, the Liberals were the only option if you supported Indigenous peoples, and if you voted Conservative, you were labeled a racist. And now, the narrative is that the Liberals are the problem for recognizing this group?
I’m sorry, but there’s enough money to go around—and it wasn’t taken from you. It comes from the southern economic engine of Canada, which transfers billions of dollars to the territories every year.
Whether this group has a legitimate claim or not, ITK and all Inuit organizations should be focusing on addressing the poverty and living conditions of their members, rather than getting sidetracked by this issue that goes nowhere.
How do you know they are not Inuit?
There’s research been done into the ancestry of the members. They’re not Inuit! But they have squandered millions of dollars from the Federal government over the years, under the guise of Metis and then raceshifted to Inuit.
Where is the research? I can’t find any reference to it online
Every Nunavut website needs an update. Maybe you were searching outdated website
https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1939/1939canlii22/1939canlii22.html?autocompleteStr=Eskimo&autocompletePos=1&resultId=61215cf96dc842b9a51ecb287d068151&searchId=2024-09-09T11:10:02:740/9e45061c6c524d49ad081fdd92412d93
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/specialp/items/1.0065910?o=1
https://www.canadiana.ca/search/?q1.0=of&q2.0=Commons&q0.0=House
In early 1600’s French diaries, some Esquimaux were referred to as “Les Sauvages”. There has also been found archaeological evidence of Inuit settlement on the Lower North Shore of Quebec. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64373
It is not hard to research the history if one is truly curious – however, the documented observances of the early explorers (Cartier et al) may also have a corresponding oral history which will have survived various recollections over the last 500 years. The written words recorded at that time will not have changed. Though they are also at risk of erosion if not carefully preserved in a museum somewhere (France, Italy, the Moravian missions, etc.). Even before Cartier arrived, fishermen of Brest (France) were already present in the Straight of Belle Isle and Southern Labrador areas. All of their diaries will speak of the inhabitants encountered on their arrivals AND their economic interference with and manipulations of the local groups (fish, seal, caribou, etc.). We cannot demand reconciliation and at the same time reject documented history. We need to educate ourselves on what is written and then fill in the gaps where history is either missing or misleading. We must also acknowledge truth where the history is written as it is more or less remembered. It is not all to be re-written or remembered differently. It is to be learned and shared, and understood. There were Inuit across the continent from Alaska to Newfoundland, from the mid 1500s up until the early 1900s. The question here might be, if Inuit ancestry survived the last 500 years for Inuit in the northern-most parts of the country, why not the southern? Only in the south does an Inuk cease being Inuk because one parent, grandparent, great grandparent, etc. is/was a qallunat or adopted some European ways – despite still incorporating a traditional subsistence lifestyle (hunting/fishing/living off the land)?
“Inuit identity is not a commodity for yt politicians…”
Totally. It’s only a commodity for Inuk politicians.
‘Commodity’ is the exact word.
A lot of what I see in the visceral rejection of the Nunatukavut is subconscious anxiety over the changing identity markers of Nunavut Inuit themselves. When they see the Nunatukavut they see their own future.
you are crazy. straight up crazy. we are not switching our identities later on, we are not having a existential crisis of our identity as inuit peoples. we know who we are and we have accepted those who are inuit like us, we mix so what. every group mixes , it happens and its accepted within our inuit culture. we still retain our culture and our language. that is what a culture is the people , and all the folks who make up the community, its not really ethnic , but it is often ethnic based by politics. what them nunatkavut folks are doing is akin to us inuit claiming chinese or some other asian heritage as our own, based on the fact we came from asia long ago and trying to get benefits and privilege’s allotted to those folks
Wow. Your post doesn’t sound crazy at all. Thanks for proving the point that identity politics are about the commodification of identity though.
Your acceptance, at the end of the day, means nothing.
tell that to the Canadian Constitution & Nunavut Agreement lol.
nice try though
The purpose was to spend all that money to meet in the south. It spent a lot of much needed money away from the North. If for the North, it could have taken place alternating locations. As it was, not many southerners attended the events while GNWT, GN, etc spent a lot in the south. Some Gov or Inuit orgs took a dozen or more ‘attendees’.
The fact that you use words like ‘settler’ shows just how little you understand, and how little your opinion means.
What is wrong with the word settler?
It’s similar to Eskimo in that it was not chosen by those it is meant to describe and is also meant to denigrate those it describes.
Ok, what do you want to be called then?
I’ll settle on ‘the dude’
I said it a few times…..Ill say it again. I LOVE BEING AN ESKIMO!!!!
it was such a great venue to partake in. great exposure. lets hope this leads to something. i think this is would be a small reason why it would be cancelled. were there demands on their part from Nunatukavut?
If this is the raceshifters who runs the several Instagram pages your research is sketchy and unethical. They publicly mislead people by mine digging information. For example they use the 1945 census to deny people their indigenous identity as if census takers were entirely accurate, For example Andy Barker the grandson of Mi’kmaq Louis John they claim is not Mi’kmaq because the census taker accidentally put an s on the end of the surname. In addition the 1945 census lists people like William Andersen who went to negotiate the LIA land claims as British, we know this is inaccurate but if raceshifters finds this for someone they label as pretendians they claim this is their ethnicity when it is incorrect and in other cases I’ve seen them cut our pieces where it did identify people as indigenous to mislead people and support her agenda.
In the 1945 census there are more people identified as Inuit in the area my father lived than in Rigolet, Postville, or Makkovik Nunatsiavut. While census records sometimes can be problematic following the trail of research in combination of our oral history reveals a long standing presence. For example the same area my father is from both Louis Fornel and Louis Joillet met with Inuit communities there in the 17th 18th century. In 1850s the Anglican Church establishes a school to teach resident unilingual inuit English. The 1916 American pilot a navigation guide notes an inuit community there. The families included the Paulo’s toomashie’s and Kippenhuck’s yet the recent push to erase Inuit in the south seen families like the Kippenhuck’s (kippinguk) having their inuit identity dismissed even in a published paper by the LIA this was without consultation with the family who have always claimed an Inuit identity. This push by Nunatsiavut has seen individuals like Inuk warrior Private George Toomashie from St. Lewis NunatuKavut have his Inuit identity erased while Toomashie was a man who laid down his life for his homeland in ww1.
I think context is important here because there is a lot of confusion surrounding this. The majority of Nunatsiavut members are kablunangajuit or mixed-Inuit mostly with less than 25 % inuit blood quantum. Many of them call themselves Inuk. Even the people with less than 100% Inuit blood quantum their grandparents or great grandparents would have been called and called themselves settlers a term which is very problematic outside of Labrador while there it always meant an Indigenous identity. We don’t loon at these people as raceshifters despite the LIA membership listing a settler membership on its application up until the late 1980s. When the ITK first came to Labrador they recommended that only inuttut speaking Inuit become members so individuals who could not speak inuttut mostly mixed Inuit joined the Inuit and Metis association of NL. You can actually see archival documents online where individuals who now identify as inuit discuss their identity as if they were metis because to the people at the time thought it just meant mixed. The Labrador metis Nation the former name of NUnatuKavut was actually started by Max Blake (who would be a representative for NG)and you can read about it in his book how inuit and mixed inuit in the rigolet and lake Melville area were unfairly treated hence why he started the organization. After the LIA rejected the ITK’s recommendations and relationships resolved people who could join the LIA did but often resulted in the splitting of family’s or areas. For example Leander baikie his father was born some 50 km outside of LIA landclaims and because of that he was denied membership while his Inuit blood quantum would arguably be more than the majority of Nunatsiavut membership. So yes NCC use to be called metis association but many of its members then who didn’t have access to the best education or indigenous understanding outside of Labrador followed along although they knew themselves as Eskimo and this can be confirmed in documents like the 1945 census. In addition people in Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut have used a metis identity from time to time, arguably mistakenly but as one elder told me I looked in the dictionary and it said a person of mixed blood and that was good enough for them. So that’s why context matters.
Absolutely spectacular bedwetting from Natan Obed and his cronies in their ivory tower.
No thought whatsoever – as usual -about how his tantrum will affect the regular membership and participants.
And whatever monies the Nunaktavut obtain is NOT taken away from other Inuit groups. Stop being so petty and plainly ignorant.
ITK is well overdue for new leadership.
Big Ben, stop trying to be who you’re not. NunatKavut are just bunch of wanna be s. they are not Inuit as the twins were trying to be from Ontario,,,,,,Sue them NTI or you’re only tough to Inuit?
Dude…why and how could NTI sue this group when they’re in an entirely different province and jurisdiction…and for what reason? For seeking acknowledgement of their rights pursuant to their identity…does that sound familiar?
Inuit in Labrador is real, there is definitely a group of them over there… i just dont think the majority of Nunatukavut is inuit. you can definitely tell who is vs who isnt
What gives it away?
Is there a percentage limit to claiming status? What if someone proves the GGGGGGGGGrandma was Indigenous?
Nunatukavut went from Metis to Inuit-Metis to Inuit.
Metis are mixed-bloods.
Inuit are full-bloods, as they were prior to the European arrival.
It’s not possible to change from mix-bloods to full-bloods overnight. It’s fraud.
To be recognized by NTI as an Inuk must one be full blood? Of course not. So what is the difference here? Is there one?
NTI also enrolled some people that do not have any ties to Nunavut, some who get access to being a Nunavut beneficiary without any ancestor’s from Nunavut makes me question how NTI does their enrolments and review process.
That is another conversation but I agree, I know of one who has no family connections to Nunavut, no ancestral family in Nunavut, not from Nunavut but somehow they became a Nunavut beneficiary and their children, what boggles my mind is they get a lot of social media support and if you breath a word about it you get attacked.for pointing that out, that they are not from Nunavut or have any connections to Nunavut.
NTI should do a better review process so this stops from happening again. Revisit some of these cases and make the proper decision and strip some who should not be a Nunavut beneficiary accordingly with an improved review process.
We know who you’re talking about don’t need to be so shy about it.
That person is Inuk. Nunatukavut members are not.
That’s all there is to it
But in reality there are many Nunatukavut that are or more Inuit than some Nunavut beneficiaries.
That person got enrolled saying they are from Pang too, we never saw them growing up here, I think they lived here for a couple months. I don’t know how they say they are from Pang.
First of all,the country we all live in is called CANADA.
Please Please stop with the bigotry. All of us from sea to sea are CANADIANS FIRST. IT”S the 21st CENTURY.
Decisions and attitudes like this just divide us. What an example of ignorant and narrow minded individuals.
A lot of people prosper because of this conference. A shame that the most privileged of a group makes such a decision that has deep impact. This conference benefits a lot of people part of Inuit Nunangat, from many different levels. This is devastating, and all for the benefit of what? To protest? Why destroy prosperity of your own people to stick it to someone you don’t recognize. Classic war pig mentality, politicians create wars, and let everyone but themselves fight them. ITK doesn’t put food on the table, it takes it away. Time for them to take a hike, and let Inuit actually prosper for once, instead of creating a political show and befriend high elite members of society.
With all do respect and as an Inuk who has spent my life running around negotiations while my father and uncles used ITK to negotiate the Nunavut Land Claims because the Federal Government refused to negotiate with Inuit in a non-colonial way I say us Inuit FINALLY get rid of ITK and start using our Inuit Beneficiary Organizations to do what they were created to do, SPEAK FOR US!!! IS this what NTI, Makivvik, IRO and Nunatsiavut Government actually wanted or is it what ITK wants because they are worried about losing money to Nunatukavut from the federal government? In my mind ITK doesn’t represent me and I would like to be better represented by NTI on a national level with the information they get from my regional organization because my regional organization does a lot of work for me and they know what I want. Cancelling this conference doesn’t really seem to be a good idea because it provides Inuit opportunities and this type of childish politics is going to take away those Inuit opportunities. Perhaps Obed should take a step back and think what is in the best interest of the 60,000 Inuit ITK supposedly represents. More importantly perhaps our Inuit Organization Reps should take a step back and think what is best. They should think about their beneficiaries and what they would want, what they would think and if they actually care about this in this way. Can we think about what ITK really means to us and perhaps we can think about whether it’s time for Inuit to grow-up and move out on our own.
My great great grandmother was an ancient Igloo Princess that my great great grandfather “dated”.
That’s too bad. It has always been a great conference.
It’s a great party that’s for sure.
And with all of the other issues and challenges Inuit face on a day-to-day basis, this is what ITK choses to focus on: attendees of a trade show.
Well, Obed and ITK have already stopped the Edmonton Eskimos from appropriating their name, so what else is there to keep them relevant?
I’ve been following this madness for the last few years, the back and forth: who is and who isn’t Inuit. What I don’t understand is why Mr. Obed or Mr. Lampe never actually respond to NCC’s request to meet and talk like sensible adults should – why is that? This common courtesy is a lesson in communication we all learned when we were youth. Sorry but this is a major fail for political “leaders”. How embarrassing.
Todays its the 1/8 breeds that will be eliminated, tmrw the 1/4, then 1/2…..when they have the upper hand, they will question where exactly our people were in 1492, shrink that line a little and make more roads, etc. We are all brothers and sisters, we must stop playing the colonial games, Nathan Obed is their puppet
ITK only speak for the regional land claims group, it does not speak for Inuit in Canada. That’s why they got rid of our team the Edmonton Eskimos.
ITK is supposed to speak for all Inuit in Canada, they are a national organization not a regional one. Maybe you are confusing them with NTI?
My Grandmother is White married to an Inuk, My mother is half white married to an inuk, so what am I 😂
NunatuKavut, Metis did not accept them after years, then all of a sudden they were Innu (Montagnais), Innu laughed them out. Oh! that didn’t work, they are Inuit now. What next?
Metis is not if you have indigenous blood, Metis Nation is Cree and French heritage that exist in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Just because because you have some indigenous blood does not qualify you as Metis.
biologically you have Inuk blood that makes you Inuk, it’s another thing if you speak or practice your culture.
It is very important to know your language and practice your culture and traditions, it’s how we define ourselves, too many are forgetting this today.
It’s really too bad the all of the Inuit organizations used a business event to make their stand. The small businesses and artists are the one that will suffer from this loss but hey who cares as long as we make our point!!!
Any readers claim to have no European or African ancestors?
It’s long been understood that the only northern people who survived the European diseases in North America were those who had some immunity due to having some European or African ancestry.
The Toonik have died out or interbred.
So, too, did those of Asian ancestry who replaced them.
“It’s long been understood that the only northern people who survived the European diseases in North America were those who had some immunity due to having some European or African ancestry.”
I’ve never heard this before, do you have any links to research on this?
The Toonik we’re killed off by Inuit…we don’t talk about that though…
‘Killed off’ is not something that we can say, “replaced by” we can absolutely say.
That is why the irony of Inuit tossing around the term ‘settler colonialist’ is so very funny. Such a profound lack of self-awareness is always good for a chuckle.
Displaced for sure, oral history says killed off. Probably a combination of these. Yet we are asked to believe the disappearance of the Tuniit at the exact time the ancestors of modern Inuit arrived in this region is a complete coincidence.
In a more comical twist of propaganda NTI would tell us Tuniit were a benevolent cousin who taught Inuit all the best hunting spots, gave up their technological secrets (Saputi) then quietly exited the stage. And people believe this! I suppose it is a more convenient story than the truth.
People have a tendency of romanticizing the folks who ended up being the underdogs in any sort of struggle and don’t like mentioning that before they were the underdogs they were just as capable of the same actions as any other people anywhere else in the world.
it all comes down to whether or not an “Inuk” is born from an “Inuk beneficiary” that has been accepted by the Nunavut Agreement and published by NTI. true it may be your comment, but that is the only distinguishing difference between Nunavut “Inuit” and Canadian “Inuit”. plus, there are varying ways to become a beneficiary under the Nunavut Agreement, regardless of NTI’s opinion or other beneficiaries.
Not a murmer from the GN about this. Do they have an opinion? This is a huge event for the Nunavut economy, an opportunity to attract investment from outside the territory. I guess PJ is waiting for Aluki and Natan to send him the script before commenting.
The GN is a public government. They absolutely do not have an opinion.
The GN is a major supporter and (arguably) beneficiary of this conference. They are entitled to an opinion if it’s being derailed by petty ethnic squabbling.
Yeah eh we are all people, inuk means people come on
This world was created for all of us to live in unison-stop your antics, please…it’s silly! ITK should know better, since they supposedly represent me…deal with moment issues, like housing, food security, etc…not deal with names like Edmonton Eskimoes.
Inuit DNA. contains makers. Linking them back to the mongrel tribes, That inhabited the northern steps of Russia. Todays Inuit from the Bearing Sea to the peoples of Northern Labrador. All carry DNA makers from the KHAN.
The first Inuit crossed the Ice bridge from Russia into North America. Thousands of years ago. The blood line over the centuries has become diluted. But sharing those same DNA markers. Does create a link to the ancient ancestry of all Inuit.
That leads to the question. Are the Inuit politicians of Nunavut. Trying impose the myth. That there are no other legitimate people. That live outside of Nunavut.
Modern science has already debunked that myth.
If they were really Inuit, they would have had contact with other Inuit or aboriginal groups dating back before written history. Other groups would have remembered them and their fore-fathers. Trade, trap lines, hunting grounds, migrating Caribou, fishing spots would have brought them in contact with other real indigenous people.
ITK is just a lobby group. The relevant Inuit organizations are:
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (Inuvialuit Final Agreement)
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (Nunavut Agreement)
Makivik Corporation (James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement)
Nunatsiavut Government (Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement)
No one seems to comment that Natan Obed, as president of ITK, claims to be a “Labrador Inuk”?!
After reading that glib about non-Inuttut speakers being excluded, I wondered if Natan is one of the outcasts.
Why do you see any need for comment on it? His status as a Labrador Inuk is not in doubt.
People are free to comment how they see fit. Many Inuit are proud to call themselves Eskimo, Ken Harper.
The status of the south Labrador group needs to be clarified. It is wearing, unfair to the community of legitimate indigenous peoples to have it undecided as it is. One thing that is certain is there is a strong historical European presence in the region.
There are strong European connections among Nuanvut & Nunavik Inuit as well. What’s the difference?
I want to thank Chris West and all the staff at the Baffin Chamber for all the hard work they have done over the years. These people that don`t realize what you have accomplished over the years will never get it. Just like everything else in the north it is being destroyed slowly by ignorant people with small minds.
Good luck with it. A sad day for the people in the north.
Khan!!!
One day a Tuniit looked out on the tundra and heaved a sigh of satisfaction and smiled at his young son. “Someday this will all be yours” he said.
The following year he looked out and saw all these migrating Inuit moving east on dog sleds, showing off their strange new tools and methods.
“Damn settlers” he muttered.
Inuit in Canada do not have a clear way to determine who is and who is not part of the group. The four Inuit LAND CLAIMS (emphasis) organizations gatekeep who benefits from those claims (“beneficiaries”), but now they are saying they gatekeep who is and who isn’t part of the race. Inuit are not like First Nations, there is no Indian registrar, status card and no blood quantum requirements. Inuit land claims select members based on their own, malleable, criteria. Example, there are “Inuit” in regions who were accepted to be beneficiaries of land claims solely because they married and Inuk. There are Inuit who are not members of the claim because they didn’t want to be, or maybe they are not eligible due to living outside the region.
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ITK is the 4 regions and speaks for them. A lot of misunderstanding in this post: NTI, IRC, NG and Makiivik presidents tell Natan Obed what to do and approve ITK actions.
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Until Inuit have a better way to determine eligibility for the race, and until someone gives land claims orgs the authority for membership into the entire race, anyone can claim Inuit ancestry. I don’t believe Nunatukavut can support a land claim, the history isn’t there, but “race” is another matter. Inuit in southern Canada (maybe not an issue for NTI, who has their own rules) are often refused membership into their land claim because they have been gone from the region too long. Who is to say they are not Inuit? Why can’t they organize for funding from Canada like the land claims? Hypothetical organizations like NTI, IRC, NG and Makivvik could be formed: Ottawa Inuit Org, Edmonton Inuit Society, Montreal Inuit Collective, could all be formed by Inuit and lobby for funding.
Seems like the IQ Principle of Tunnganarniq is on full display here
This still mine boggles me!! So right now there is an Expo Labrador Conference happening in Happy Valley Goose Bay where all Labrador Indigenous groups and business people are are gathered. What is the difference? Nunatukavut is there!!