Inuit want seat at Arctic discussions, NTI president says – Nunatsiaq News

Oct 17, 2022

Arctic policy-makers must know who Inuit are, Kotierk says as Arctic Circle Assembly wraps up

Inuit must be involved whenever the world discusses Arctic issues, says the head of the organization that represents Nunavut’s Inuit.

“I get the sense from fellow Inuit that what we want is a seat at these discussions,” Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., president Aluki Kotierk said in an interview at the end of this year’s Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland.

“I think each time an Inuk speaks, there’s an assertion of ‘I am here, we are here, we will continue to be here and you have to involve us.’”

Kotierk was one of more than 100 Canadian representatives who attended the 2022 Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland from Oct. 13 to 16. Among them were Inuit representatives such as Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada president Lisa Koperqualuk.

Read More: https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/inuit-want-seat-at-arctic-discussions-nti-president-says/