Our Vision
Canadian Inuit prospering through unity and self-determination
Our Mission
Serve as a national voice protecting and advancing the rights and interests of Inuit in Canada
Our Board
Natan Obed
President | ITK
Vice-President | ICC Canada
[member_popup popup_id=”popupNatanObed” name=”Natan Obed” bio=”Natan Obed is President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Vice-President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada). Originally from Nain, Nunatsiavut, he is a respected negotiator and consensus builder. Obed plays a central role in advancing Inuit self-determination through national and international partnerships, including the Inuit Crown Partnership Committee.”]
Herb Nakimayak
Vice-President | ITK
Interim President | ICC Canada
[member_popup popup_id=”popupHerbNakimayak” name=”Herb Nakimayak” bio=”Herb Nakimayak is Vice-President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Interim President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada). From the community of Paulatuk in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nakimayak is known for his work in international advocacy, environmental stewardship, and strengthening Inuit representation across the circumpolar world.”]
Erwin Elias
Chair and CEO | Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
[member_popup popup_id=”popupErwinElias” name=”ErwinElias” bio=”Erwin Elias is the Chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, whose mandate is to receive Inuvialuit lands and financial compensation resulting from the 1984 Inuvialuit land claims settlement. He served the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk for more than 13 years, as a Councilor, Deputy Mayor and three terms as Mayor.”]
Pita Aatami
President | Makivvik Corporation
[member_popup popup_id=”PitaAatami” name=”Pita Aatami” bio=”Pita Aatami was most recently President and CEO of Air Inuit, a subsidiary of Makivvik. He first elected as a Makivvik board member in 1987 and served as President of Makivvik from 1998 to 2012.”]
Johannes Lampe
President | Nunatsiavut Government
[member_popup popup_id=”JohannesLampe” name=”Johannes Lampe” bio=”Johannes Lampe is the President of Nunatsiavut. He previously served as the Minister of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. He is the third person to lead the Nunatsiavut Government, an Inuit regional government, since the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement and Labrador Constitution came into effect in 2005.”]
Laisa Audlaluk-Watsko
Interim Board Chair | Pauktuutit
[member_popup popup_id=”LaisaAudlaluk-Watsko” name=”Laisa Audlaluk-Watsko” bio=”Laisa Audlaluk-Watsko serves as Interim Board Chair of Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada. An experienced community leader and advocate for Inuit women, she works to promote equality, safety, and empowerment through culturally-informed partnerships and programs that strengthen Inuit families and communities across Canada.”]
Gwen Natsiq
President | National Inuit Youth Council
[member_popup popup_id=”GwenNatsiq” name=”Gwen Natsiq” bio=”Gwen Natsiq is the President of the National Inuit Youth Council. She is from Iqaluit, Nunavut. President Natsiq raises awareness for better education and mental health resources for Inuit youth across Canada.”]
President
Our president is elected for three-year terms by voting members of the board. Our office is located in Ottawa to maximize the national role we play.
- Chair of the Board – ITK President
Voting Members
Our four directors (voting members) represent the four regional Inuit land claims organizations.
- Director, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
- Director, Makivik Corporation
- Director, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
- Director, Nunatsiavut Government
Non-Voting Members
Our three non-voting permanent participant representatives also sit on the board.
- President, Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada
- President, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
- President, National Inuit Youth Council
Our History
During the past four and a half decades ITK has been adept at adapting to the shifting political realities facing our people. It is because of our versatility that ITK is an effective and powerful voice for Inuit.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, formerly the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, was founded at a meeting in Toronto in February 1971 by seven Inuit community leaders. The impetus to form a national Inuit organization evolved from shared concern among Inuit leaders about the status of land and resource ownership in Inuit Nunangat. Industrial encroachment into Inuit Nunangat from projects such as the then proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline in the Northwest Territories and the James Bay Project in Northern Québec, spurred community leaders to action.
They agreed that forming a national Inuit organization was necessary to voice their concerns about these and related issues, choosing the name Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (“Inuit will be united”) for the new organization. The first ITC conference was held in Ottawa later that year.
ITK’s early leadership envisioned a blanket land claim to Inuit lands in the Northwest Territories and Nunavik given the immediate pressures facing these regions while Nunatsiavut’s land claim would come later. However the acceleration of activity in the Mackenzie Delta region and Nunavik made work on a single claim impractical. ITK remained active in land claims by leading land claims negotiations for Nunavut between 1976 and 1982, through coordination of research documenting traditional Inuit land use and occupancy in the Northwest Territories, and by making preparations to manage the assets of a future settlement.
In addition to land claims, ITK has played a leading role in the broader recognition of Indigenous rights in Canada. ITK oversaw the Inuit Committee on National Issues (ICNI) which was organized in 1979 in order to represent Inuit views on Canada’s Constitution. ICNI was part of the Aboriginal Rights Coalition that successfully lobbied the federal and provincial governments to reinstate Section 35 of the Constitution after its removal during the 1981 First Ministers Constitutional Conference. Section 35 elevates Inuit land claims to the status of treaty rights and protects them within the Constitution.
In 2001, ITC changed its name to Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which means “Inuit are united in Canada.” The name was changed to reflect the settlement of land claims agreements in all Inuit regions following the Labrador Inuit Association’s signing of an Agreement-in-Principal for the Labrador land claims agreement.
[button color=”see-through-2″ hover_text_color_override=”#fff” image=”default-arrow” size=”medium” url=”https://itkrebuild.kinsta.cloud/contact-representational-organization-canadian-inuit/” text=”Contact” color_override=”” hover_color_override=”#d29e36″]
Executive Office
Our executive office is staffed by the following:
- President
- Executive Director
- Political Advisor
- Legal Advisor
- Executive Assistant
The President
Our current President, Natan Obed, is from Nain, Nunatsiavut. Prior to moving to Ottawa, he lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut for 10 years, where he worked for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. as the Director of Social and Cultural Development. NTI represents the rights of beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Obed has devoted his entire professional career to working on behalf of Inuit representational organizations to improve the health and well-being of Inuit in Canada.
