Inuit Circumpolar Conference
Encyclopedia
Originally known as the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) is a multinational non-governmental organization
(NGO) representing the 150,000 Inuit
(often referred to as Eskimo
) people living in the United States
, Canada
, Greenland
, and Russia
.
The Conference, which first met in June 1984 in Barrow, Alaska
, initially represented Native Peoples from Canada, Alaska and Greenland. The Conference agreed to replace the term Eskimo
with the term Inuit
. The goals of the Conference are to strengthen ties between Arctic people and to promote human, cultural, political and environmental rights and polities and the international level.
The Conference holds a General Assembly every four years. ICC is one of the six Arctic indigenous communities to have the status of Permanent Participant on the Arctic Council
.
The Inuit population includes the following groups and regions:
All of these peoples are sometimes collectively referred to be the exonym
Eskimo, the use of which is frowned upon by many of the Inuit, especially in eastern Canada. ICC uses the term Inuit to refer to them all, which has its own problems. One of those problems is administrative. Is an Inuk in the United States considered "Native American
," or "Alaskan Native
?" Or, are they to be considered "Aboriginal American
," "Other," or simply not considered at all? The Yupik of both Alaska and Russia generally dislike being called Inuit, which is not a word in the Yupik language nor a word which they use to describe themselves, and prefer Yupik but will tolerate Eskimo.
s and interests, and to ensure the development of Inuit culture.
Structurally, the organization is made up of four separate offices in each of the four Inuit nations, chartered individually under their national rules. The Presidents of ICC Russia, ICC Alaska, ICC Canada, and ICC Greenland, along with one Executive Council Member elected from each of the nations, make up the eight-member ICC Executive Council. The Executive Council is presided over by an International Chair (formerly international president - the title was changed in 2002).
ICC holds a General Assembly every four years, bringing together Inuit from across the northern circumpolar region to discuss issues of international importance to their communities, provide direction for the work of the organization over the next four years, and divide responsibility for issue areas between the national offices. Assembly delegates appoint an international Chair from the General Assembly host-country, along with the members of Executive Council, and develop policies
and resolution
s for the coming term.
The General Assembly, and thus the international Chair position, rotates between the four Inuit nations quadrennially at the General Assemblies. At the 2002 General Assembly in Kuujjuaq
, Nunavik, Canada, the Chair passed from Greenland, where it had been held for the previous seven years by Aqqaluk Lynge
, now a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
, to Canada, where Sheila Watt-Cloutier
, formerly the President of ICC Canada, took the position.
In 2006, the Chair passed to ICC Alaska at the General Assembly in Barrow
, and is currently occupied by Patricia L. Cochran, formerly Executive Director of the Alaska Native Science Commission. At that Assembly, ICC also voted to change its name to Inuit Circumpolar Council as there has been perennial confusion over an organizational name that sounds more like a past meeting.
The Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Youth Council (2007-2010) is Greta Schuerch of Alaska.
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
(NGO) representing the 150,000 Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
(often referred to as Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
) people living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The Conference, which first met in June 1984 in Barrow, Alaska
Barrow, Alaska
Barrow is the largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is one of the northernmost cities in the world and is the northernmost city in the United States of America, with nearby Point Barrow being the nation's northernmost point. Barrow's population was 4,212 at the...
, initially represented Native Peoples from Canada, Alaska and Greenland. The Conference agreed to replace the term Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
with the term Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
. The goals of the Conference are to strengthen ties between Arctic people and to promote human, cultural, political and environmental rights and polities and the international level.
The Conference holds a General Assembly every four years. ICC is one of the six Arctic indigenous communities to have the status of Permanent Participant on the Arctic Council
Arctic Council
The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum which addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.- History of the Arctic Council :...
.
Background
- Canada: NunavutNunavutNunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, the InuvialuitInuvialuitThe Inuvialuit or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit people who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska...
(Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest TerritoriesThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
), NunavikNunavikNunavik comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, Canada. Covering a land area of 443,684.71 km² north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the Inuit of Quebec...
(Northern QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
), and NunatsiavutNunatsiavutNunatsiavut is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inuit Association submitted a proposal for limited autonomy to the government of Newfoundland and...
(LabradorLabradorLabrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
) - United States (AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
): the Inupiat and Yupik - Greenland: the KalaallitKalaallitKalaallit is the contemporary term in the Kalaallisut language for the indigenous people living in Greenland, also called the Kalaallit Nunaat. The singular term is kalaaleq. The Kalaallit are a part of the Arctic Inuit people. The language spoken by Inuit in Greenland is Kalaallisut.Historically,...
- Russia (Chukchi PeninsulaChukchi PeninsulaThe Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula , at about 66° N 172° W, is the northeastern extremity of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village of Uelen. It is bordered by the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the...
): the Siberian YupikSiberian YupikSiberian Yupiks, or Yuits, are indigenous people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far northeast of the Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Central Siberian Yupik , a Yupik language of the Eskimo–Aleut family of languages.They were also...
All of these peoples are sometimes collectively referred to be the exonym
Exonym and endonym
In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym is a local name for a geographical feature, and an exonym or xenonym is a foreign language name for it...
Eskimo, the use of which is frowned upon by many of the Inuit, especially in eastern Canada. ICC uses the term Inuit to refer to them all, which has its own problems. One of those problems is administrative. Is an Inuk in the United States considered "Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
," or "Alaskan Native
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
?" Or, are they to be considered "Aboriginal American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
," "Other," or simply not considered at all? The Yupik of both Alaska and Russia generally dislike being called Inuit, which is not a word in the Yupik language nor a word which they use to describe themselves, and prefer Yupik but will tolerate Eskimo.
Structure and functions
The main goals of the organization are to strengthen unity among Inuit, to promote their rightHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
s and interests, and to ensure the development of Inuit culture.
Structurally, the organization is made up of four separate offices in each of the four Inuit nations, chartered individually under their national rules. The Presidents of ICC Russia, ICC Alaska, ICC Canada, and ICC Greenland, along with one Executive Council Member elected from each of the nations, make up the eight-member ICC Executive Council. The Executive Council is presided over by an International Chair (formerly international president - the title was changed in 2002).
ICC holds a General Assembly every four years, bringing together Inuit from across the northern circumpolar region to discuss issues of international importance to their communities, provide direction for the work of the organization over the next four years, and divide responsibility for issue areas between the national offices. Assembly delegates appoint an international Chair from the General Assembly host-country, along with the members of Executive Council, and develop policies
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
and resolution
Resolution (policy debate)
In policy debate, a resolution or topic is a normative statement which the affirmative team affirms and the negative team negates. Resolutions are selected annually by affiliated schools....
s for the coming term.
The General Assembly, and thus the international Chair position, rotates between the four Inuit nations quadrennially at the General Assemblies. At the 2002 General Assembly in Kuujjuaq
Kuujjuaq, Quebec
Kuujjuaq is the largest Inuit village in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada with a population of 2,132 as of the 2006 census. This is up roughly 10% from 1,932 as of the 2001 Census. It is the administrative capital of Nunavik and lies on the western shore of the Koksoak River.Kuujjuaq previously was known...
, Nunavik, Canada, the Chair passed from Greenland, where it had been held for the previous seven years by Aqqaluk Lynge
Aqqaluk Lynge
Aqqaluk Lynge was the President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council from 1995 to 2002. He is a former member of the Parliament of Greenland and one of the founders of the Greenlandic political party Inuit Ataqatigiit...
, now a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is the UN's central coordinating body for matters relating to the concerns and rights of the world's indigenous peoples. "Indigenous person" means native, original, first people and aboriginal. There are more than 370 million indigenous...
, to Canada, where Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Sheila Watt-Cloutier, OC is a Canadian Inuit activist. She has been a political representative for Inuit at the regional, national and international levels, most recently as International Chair for Inuit Circumpolar Council...
, formerly the President of ICC Canada, took the position.
In 2006, the Chair passed to ICC Alaska at the General Assembly in Barrow
Barrow, Alaska
Barrow is the largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is one of the northernmost cities in the world and is the northernmost city in the United States of America, with nearby Point Barrow being the nation's northernmost point. Barrow's population was 4,212 at the...
, and is currently occupied by Patricia L. Cochran, formerly Executive Director of the Alaska Native Science Commission. At that Assembly, ICC also voted to change its name to Inuit Circumpolar Council as there has been perennial confusion over an organizational name that sounds more like a past meeting.
The Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Youth Council (2007-2010) is Greta Schuerch of Alaska.