Inuit delegates from the U.S. state of Alaska, the Russian region of Chukotka, Greenland and Canada concluded Thursday the 13th Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) General Assembly in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, pledging to work on advancing international Indigenous human rights and seek greater voice in international organizaions.
During the four-day summit, the 64 Inuit delegates heard presentations from experts on a number of topics ranging from economic development, wildlife management and Inuit culture and language.
Delegates also heard a detailed report on the outcomes of the Pikialasorsuaq Commission on the North Water Polynya, an area of year-around open water surrounded by sea ice between Canada’s Ellesmere Island and the northwestern coast of Greenland.
Known as Pikialasorsuaq in Inuktitut, the polynya, is one of the most biologically productive areas in the circumpolar Arctic and is a breeding ground and migration area for animals such as narwhal, beluga, walrus, bowhead whales and migratory birds.
It is also of tremendous cultural and economic importance for the Inuit who have depended on its bounty for their survival for millennia.
‘Every Inuk is valued’
Inuit girls in traditional dress play on the rocks in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, Thursday, July 5, 2007. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
The summit also transferred the rotating chair of the international organization from Canada to Alaska for the next four-year term.
Dalee Sambo Dorough was unanimously elected as the new Chair, taking over from Canada’s Okalik Eeegeesiak.
“Every Inuk is valued. Every Inuk is the Inuit Circumpolar Council. Period,” Dorough, who teaches political science at the University of Alaska Anchorage, said in her closing address.
“Our founding father, Eben Hopson, had the foresight to unite us as a people. He saw the value of advancing a coherent, coordinated approach to our collective action and our united voice at the international level.”
Dorough, whose research and work focuses on international relations and Indigenous issues, said she wants to underscore the interrelated, interdependent and indivisible nature of human rights.
“We have determined our political status – we are distinct peoples, with distinct rights that inhabit a distinct region of the world,” Dorough said. “I am genuinely honored to have been selected to lead the Inuit Circumpolar Council for the next four years.”
Delegates adopted Utqiaġvik Declaration
Representatives of the U.S. delegation address the ICC General Assembly during the opening day of the summit on July 16, 2018. (ICC/Youtube)
According to the ICC tradition, the delegates also adopted the Utqiaġvik Declaration, a roadmap for the organization’s activities during the coming four years.
The Utqiaġvik Declaration contains 10 sections and 58 clauses, drafted with the theme of the General Assembly in mind “Inuit – The Arctic We Want”.
Top of the list is greater engagement with various international organizations and bodies, including United Nations and the Arctic Council, where the ICC, which represents about 160,000 Inuit across the circumpolar world, is one of the six Indigenous permanent representative groups.
The Utqiaġvik Declaration also mandates ICC to initiate diplomatic talks “for the purpose of laying the groundwork for negotiations to declare the Arctic as a Peaceful Zone.”
Other priorities outlined in the declaration include food security, family and youth, health and wellness, education and language, Indigenous knowledge, sustainable wildlife management and environment, sustainable development, communication and capacity building.
New executive team
The new Executive Council is composed of the following members:
Chair: Dalee Sambo Dorough
Alaska: President: Jimmy Stotts; Vice-President: Vera Metcalf
Canada: President: Monica Ell-Kanayuk; Vice-President: Lisa Koperqualuk
Chukotka: President: Lubov Taian; Vice-President: Elena Kaminskaya
Greenland: President Hjalmar Dahl; Vice-President: Nuka Kleeman
The delegates also presented the Bill Edmunds Award established by ICC to honour those individuals who have made a selfless contribution to the promotion of Inuit rights and interests, with a particular focus on international endeavors, to outgoing ICC Chukotka President Tatiana Achirgina.
The next ICC General Assembly will be held in llulissat, Greenland in 2022.
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