What is the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami?

The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK, formerly the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada) is the national representative organisation of the about 70,000 Inuit of Canada. It was founded in 1971 (originally as the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada and renamed Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in 2001) to represent Inuit interests in policy, land claims, education, health, and culture. ITK is the leading voice of the four Inuit regions of Inuit Nunangat: Nunavut (established 1999, about 39,000 Inuit), Nunavik (the northern third of Quebec, about 13,000 Inuit), Nunatsiavut (in Labrador, about 6,000 Inuit), and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (in the Northwest Territories, about 5,500 Inuit).

ITK was founded at a meeting of Inuit leaders in Ottawa in February 1971. Founding leaders included Tagak Curley (later first Chairman, also the leader of the Nunavut Constitutional Forum), James Arvaluk, Charlie Watt, and Donald Suluk. The founding objective was to respond to the 1969 federal White Paper (Inuit had not been adequately consulted on the proposed assimilationist policy) and to coordinate Inuit responses to northern development pressures, particularly oil and gas exploration in the Beaufort Sea, hydroelectric development at James Bay, and northern pipeline proposals.

ITK's major achievements include: the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975 (the first modern treaty, covering Nunavik Inuit alongside the Cree); the Inuvialuit Final Agreement of June 5, 1984 (the first modern Inuit-specific treaty in the Northwest Territories); the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement of May 25, 1993 (the largest Indigenous land claims agreement in Canadian history); the establishment of the Territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999; the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement of 2005 (creating the Nunatsiavut Government); and the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee of 2017 (a federal-ITK partnership for ongoing policy coordination).

ITK's recent advocacy has emphasised Inuit climate adaptation, language preservation, education access, food security, mental health, and self-determination. Notable ITK leaders have included Mary Simon (President 1995 to 2001, later Governor General of Canada from July 26, 2021), Jose Kusugak (President 2000 to 2006), Mary Sillett, Paul Kaludjak, and current President Natan Obed (since 2015). ITK's headquarters in Ottawa coordinates advocacy, research, and partnerships with the four Inuit regions and federal agencies. The Mary Simon appointment as Canada's first Indigenous Governor General drew on her ITK leadership and international Inuit work, including her service as Canadian Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs (1994 to 2003).