Northern portions of Canada were not considered valuable or in demand, due to the climate and way of life.  Thus much of the North was not left as unceded land, until oil was discovered in the 1960's.  At this time, Inuit leaders pursued comprehensive land claims, which are often referred to as 'Modern Treaties'.

While viewing the video below, consider what became the catalyst for comprehensive land claims.  Is this different from other land claims you have read about? How so?

Retrieved from Inuvialuit Regional Corporation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF0_6-msDRw

Nunavut Land Claims

The official flag of Nunavut was proclaimed on 1 April 1999, along with the territory of Nunavut in Canada. It features a red inuksuk—a traditional Inuit land marker—and a blue star, which represents the Niqirtsuituq, the North Star, and the leadership of elders in the community.

Retrieved from https://flagmartcanada.com/products/nunavut-flag

The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA) is remarkable on many points, but perhaps the most significant is that this Agreement gave the Inuit of Nunavut true self-government and a separate territory - a first in Canada. Nunavut means "Our Land" in the Inuktitut language.

The official path to this landmark Agreement began in 1973 when an exhaustive study was launched to document where Inuit lived at the time, where their ancestors lived, how they lived, and how they travelled and hunted in Canada’s Arctic.

“Tagak Curley of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada took the Inuit Use and Occupancy Study to the Government of Canada. The study showed where the Inuit live today and where their ancestors lived. It also told how land is, and was, used. Without this proof, the federal government would not begin negotiating a land claim with the Inuit.” Kangikhiteagumaven: A Plain Language Guide to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement

Negotiating the NLCA was an exhaustive process that spanned 20 years and took place during the terms of four prime ministers. The Inuit negotiators never once relented on their primary goal - self government and a separate territory - and were prepared to sacrifice the claim rather than sign an agreement that did not include these points.

The 282 page agreement was ratified in November 1992, and on July 9, 1993 the agreement between Her Majesty the Queen in the right of Canada and the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area became part of Canada law. The Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) was set up in 1993 to ensure the promises made in the 41 articles of the NLCA are fulfilled.

10 Fast Facts:

1) Territory of Nunavut covers 1.9 million square kilometres which makes it nearly one-fifth the size of Canada

2) NLCA gives title to Inuit-owned lands measuring about 350,000 square kilometres (of the total area of Nunavut of 1.9 million square kilometres), of which about 35,000 square kilometres include mineral rights

3) NLCA is the largest Aboriginal land claim settlement in Canadian history

4) NLCA involved the largest number of beneficiaries of any land claim agreement in Canadian history

5) Nunavut has its own Legislative Assembly and public government, separate from the Government of the remainder of the Northwest Territories

6) NLCA included capital transfer payments of $1.148 billion over 14 years, and a $13 million Training Trust Fund for the establishment of the Government of Nunavut

7) NLCA recognizes that the Inuit are traditional and current users of wildlife and provides them with the legal right to harvest wildlife flow from their traditional and current use

8) NLCA ensures that the Inuit must always take part in decisions on wildlife via the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board

9) NLCA ensures a share of federal government royalties for Nunavut Inuit from oil, gas and mineral development on Crown lands,

10) NLCA provides the right to negotiate with industry for economic and social benefits with non-renewable resource development where Inuit own surface title to the land

Indigenous Corporate Training, Retrieved from https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/nunavut-land-claims-agreement-turns-twenty-10-fast-facts

Making sense of ....

Research how the Inuit are preserving their culture through education, justice systems and government policy.  

Going Beyond

There is a tremendous pride in the creation of Nunavik of Northern Quebec and Labrador and the land claims agreement which led to it.  View some of the young artists and activists within the region, such as the creators of "I Believe".

Retrieved from https://www.whose.land/en/treaty/nunavik-inuit-land-claims-agreement

Do a google search for other young artists living in areas involved in land claim settlements.  Do you see that same pride of place?  How do you think that may change lives within these communities?  Do you feel the process itself leads to changes?  How?