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Inuit leader to speak about Arctic land claims
Jose
Kusugak, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Knatami, will be speaking at
Trent on Wednesday, October 9, at 6 p.m. in the Native Studies lounge
(Otonabee College).
A leader of substantial national importance, Mr. Kusugak presides over
the largest geographic area of Canada. As president of the Inuit Tapiriit
Knatami (formerly known as the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada), he is the spokesperson
for all of Canada’s Inuit peoples and his talk at Trent will focus
on issues of implementing land claims in the Arctic.
"We are the national Inuit organization in Canada, representing the
four Inuit regions – Labrador, Nunavik (northern Quebec), Nunavut
and the Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories. Politically, Inuit
are united, which is reflected in our name – Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
– which means ‘Inuit united in Canada,’" writes
President Kusugak in an article on the organization’s website (www.itk.ca).
The 42,000 Inuit peoples of Canada have successfully concluded landmark
agreements on comprehensive land claims and, to date, have signed three
major land claim settlements (Nunavik, Inuvialuit and Nunavut). An agreement
has been reached, in principle, on the fourth and final land claim of
Labrador. (Click
here for the pdf of a map of Inuit regions)
These achievements have reshaped Canada’s north and have placed
governance and autonomy back in the hands of its first peoples. That process
has created many challenges, and Mr. Kusugak’s discussion at Trent
will shed light on some of those issues.
For more information about Mr. Kusugak’s visit, or details about
his lecture at Trent, please contact the Native Studies Department at
748-1011, ext. 1466.
Posted October 7, 2002
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