Aluki Kotierk acclaimed as Inuit Circumpolar Council chair
Former Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk was acclaimed as chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) on July 25 after no other candidates were nominated. Kotierk, from Iglulik, is also chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “I am hopeful that Greenlanders, Canadians, Alaskans and all Inuit can collaborate,” Kotierk said through a translator in her acceptance speech. Her term will run from 2026 to 2030, replacing outgoing chair Sara Olsvig, who’s from Greenland. Ahead of Kotierk’s acclamation, the ICC adopted a declaration on the last day of the organization’s assembly in Iqaluit calling on all governments to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Resisting attempts to seize Inuit land, maintaining peace in the Arctic and fighting Inuit identity fraud were all part of the unanimously adopted declaration. Demanding that governments remove barriers for Inuit to travel to and from Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Siberia; repatriate Inuit artifacts to their places of origin; and take action on climate change were also included in the declaration. The 15th ICC assembly in Iqaluit ran from July 22-25 and was the organization’s first in-person general assembly since 2018. Scheduled to run every four years, the 2022 general assembly was held online. Representatives from Chukotka (Russia), Alaska, Inuvialuit (Northwest Territories), Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Labrador) and Greenland participated in the general assembly. Delegations from each region discussed how to work together on the world stage and build bridges across Inuit communities. Cultural events featuring music and dancing were held every night of the assembly.