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Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated

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Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI; Inuktitut: Nunavut Tunngavik; Syllabics: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᑐᙵᕕᒃ) is the legal representative of the Inuit of Nunavut for the purposes of native treaty rights and treaty negotiation and one of the four regional members that make up the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. NTI continues to play a central role in Nunavut, even after the creation of the Government of Nunavut. As the successor of the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut, which was a signatory of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement on behalf of Inuit, NTI is responsible for ensuring that the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is implemented fully by the Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut and that all parties fulfill their obligations.

NTI is governed by a ten-member board of directors. Three of the directors -the President, the First Vice President and Second Vice President- are elected directly by beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement who are 16 years and older. Six of the directors are the Presidents and Vice Presidents of the three Regional Inuit Associations located in Nunavut. One director is appointed by the Nunavut Trust, the body responsible for holding in trust the monies received from the Government of Canada as part of the settlement of the Nunavut land claim in 1993. The four member Executive consists of the presidents of NTI and the three RIAs.

NTI’s mission is: “Inuit economic, social and cultural well-being through implementation of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.”

Organizationally, NTI consists of ten departments:

  • Lands & Resources
  • Wildlife
  • Claim Implementation
  • Human Resources
  • Business & Economic Development
  • Communications
  • Legal Services
  • Finance
  • Administration
  • Social & Cultural Development.

For NTI, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is the central structure for identifying policy priorities and directions. This follows two main paths:

  • First, policy and program priorities are determined by what Claim obligations, either Inuit or government, have yet to be implemented.
  • Second, priorities can stem from the necessity of meeting ongoing Inuit obligations.

NTI has gone through a transformation from the political activist body it began as to an organization with significant responsibilities for administering the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Nevertheless, it continues as an advocate for the rights of Inuit.

The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed in May 1993 by Inuit and government. Inuit were represented by the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, which went on to become Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. The Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories signed the NLCA on behalf of the Queen.

Negotiators worked hard to make Inuit rights and benefits clear in the NLCA. The NLCA brings many rights and benefits to Inuit. The NLCA recognizes the contributions of Inuit to Canada’s history, identity and sovereignty in the Arctic.

Once the NLCA was signed and became law in Canada, TFN transformed into NTI. NTI was created to ensure that all 42 Articles of the NLCA were implemented. NTI continues to implement those articles today. NTI also works to protect the rights and benefits of Inuit as outlined in the NLCA.

NTI has an eight-member Board of Directors that guides the organization. The Board of Directors includes the NTI president, vice-president, and the presidents and vice-presidents of the three Regional Inuit Associations. NTI’s president and vice-president each hold office for a four-year term.

NTI also has a five-member executive committee. The president and vice-president of NTI and the presidents of the three RIAs make up the executive committee.

Approximately 75 people work for NTI in Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit and Ottawa. Most of NTI’s employees are Inuit.

NTI’s executive officers, board of directors and employees all work toward ensuring the NLCA is implemented.

NTI plays a lead role in helping Inuit and Inuit organizations understand their rights and obligations under the NLCA. Finding out what the NLCA says is the first step for anyone who wants to use his or her rights or benefits.

Nunavut is a territory with a public government. It is also the Inuit homeland. The NLCA will protect this reality by giving special duties to Inuit organizations like NTI with respect to language, culture and social policy. These duties might be handled directly by NTI or by Designated Inuit Organizations.

The Government of Nunavut protects the interests of all residents of Nunavut and NTI protects the rights of Inuit in Nunavut.

History

In 1973, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada initiated the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project resulting in a three volume publication.[1][2] According to Milton Freeman who oversaw the project, it "documented the total Inuit land use area of the Northwest Territories, then stretching from the Mackenzie River to east Baffin Island," to provide "information in support of the fact that Inuit have used and occupied this vast northern land since time immemorial and that they still use and occupy it to this day." Anthropologist David Hoffman one of the many experts who conducted fieldwork in what is now Nunavut, admired the the "precision with which Inuit – who did not ordinarily use maps and who often could not read English – were able to recall specific areas of use and the "incredible encyclopedic knowledge of the land," formed by generations of dependence on its living bounty."[3][4]

Background

A September 5, 2018 report "Raising children" by the University of Calgary based Children First Canada and the O'Brien Institute for Public Health, wrote that Nunavut had the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) in Canada — 17.7 per 1,000 live births, much higher than the Canadian average IMR of 4.7.[5] The president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, Aluki Kotierk, said she hoped this would "spark rage" at the dire living conditions of some Nunavummiut children.[6] The report, which provided a snapshot of the health and well-being of Canadian children based on data collected by Statistics Canada, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Canadian Pediatric SocietyUNICEF report cards and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports, warned that Canada's IMR was higher than all other European OECD countries and compared to all OECD countries, Canada ranks 30th of 44.[7]

References

  1. ^ Freeman, Milton (1976), Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project: A Report, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs
  2. ^ Argetsinger, Timothy H. Aqukkasuk (2009), The Nature of Inuit Self-Governance in Nunavut Territory (PDF), Hanover, NH: Native American Studies, Dartmouth College
  3. ^ Argetsinger|2009|18
  4. ^ Mitchell, Marybelle (1996). From Talking Chiefs to a Native Corporate Elite: The Birth of Class and Nationalism among Canadian Inuit. McGill-Queen's Native and Northern Series. Vol. 12. McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP). p. 568. ISBN 0773565809.
  5. ^ Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0712-01. Ottawa: 2018 Aug 22 [cited 2018 August]. Infant mortality rates, by sex, annual CANSIM (database)
  6. ^ Fenn, Kirsten (September 5, 2018). "Report on children's well-being highlights dire conditions for some in the North". CBC News. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Numbers show Nunavut continues to take top spot for infant mortality rate
  7. ^ Organization for Economic Co-operation Development. Infant mortality rates (indicator). France: OECD; 2018 [cited 2018 Jul]. doi: 10.1787/83dea506-en

External links

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