“Inuit leader asserts
stake in natural riches.
Newly elected Terry
Audla promises to ensure northern communities share in wealth generated off
extraction of Arctic resources.”
So read the headline published in the GLOBE AND MAIL dated
June 09, 2012 and written by a Gloria Galloway.
Firstly, congratulations to Terry Audla who is now the new
leader of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the political organization that
oversees all issues pertaining to Canada’s Inuit people. Secondly, like some
First Nations leaders, he seems to get it when addressing the plight of his own
people. In two words; economic development. After all, the natural riches of
the Arctic were regarded very early in the 1900’s.
Enter the book, “A
Northward course of Empire,” written by the early 20th century
Canadian Arctic explorer, Vilhjalmur Stephansson. The book describes the potential
for economic development of Arctic regions. Now, over a century later, an Inuit
leader finally gets it.
“There are capped wells in the high arctic and there are oil
and gas reserves in the high arctic as well, “ Mr. Audla said this week in a
telephone interview on the day after his victory.”
“And the Inuit will definitely be involved in the
development of that when the decision is made to do so.”
So, what took so long?
“Mr. Audla said the roots of the ITK go back to a time when
the Inuit watched the riches of their land being harvested without them. That
cannot happen going forward, he said, especially now that the land claims have
been settled.”
In the past, the Inuit were once rich in language and
culture only to be disrupted by the establishment of Canada and then having to
ironically “re-claim” the land that has always identified their existence. So,
what about the future?
“…it is the resources that he believes hold the promise for
the future of his people.”
“The Inuit own 50 million hectares of land, which is about
the size of Spain, The Nunavut land claim agreement has set the stage for the
Inuit to regain the control they once had. This time moving forward into the 21st
century, not with spears, igloos,
aglus, umiaks, kayaks or seal skin clothing but with a big
difference…money through economic development.
“Mr. Audla said. If you have that much land and control,
there’s no reason why you can’t have the economic development based on what you
want to do and how you want to do it. If you can control that, it certainly
would go towards improving the lives of the Inuit.”
Finally, the new leader of the ITK has realized a northward
course of empire.
