Makivik marks 25 years of working for Nunavik

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The communities in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec have gone through a number of changes in the last quarter century, and the Makivik Corporation has been there, working to make them changes for the better.

The Makivik Corporation grew out of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) of 1975, a land claim agreement signed between Hydro-Quebec, the federal government, the government of Quebec, and the Inuit and Cree of northern Quebec. The agreement paved the way for hydro development to occur on lands within the traditional territories of the Cree and Inuit people of the region, in exchange for $225 million in compensation. The Makivik Corporation was set up in 1978, both to manage the Inuit share of the compensation funds and to ensure all signatories to the agreement lived up to the commitments made to the Inuit within the agreement.

Pita Aatami has been president of Makivik Corporation since 1998 and has been involved in the organization since 1987.

"We've come from the ice age to the technological age," he said of the changes Nunavik has gone through over the years since Makivik was created.

"What we're using right now- computers, fax machines-when I was growing up, I never thought I would see these in my lifetime and I myself use them now. So it's like we've come from an ice age to this technology that all of a sudden we're utilizing to our benefit. So we've been very fortunate as Inuit that we could adapt very easily to utilizing another culture's tools.

"In the 25 years since Makivik was created, we've gone through tremendous change in terms of infrastructure that's been put up in our communities, having schools built, airstrips built, and now we're getting marine infrastructure built in every community. So we're seeing all these changes, it seems, in a very short period of time. Before that, we were nomadic and living off the land. Now we're settled in communities, and utilizing the tools that have been given to us for our means."

That transition has been a difficult one for some, Aatami explained.

"When there's another culture encroaching upon your own culture, there is going to be some impact, and there have been impacts. Alcohol that was introduced, drugs that were introduced. Yes there have been some negative impacts. Living in crowded houses, creating social problems, health problems," he said, adding that although there have been some problems, the positive impacts have so far outweighed the negative.

Over the past quarter century, Makivik has worked hard to further the rights and interests of the people living in the 15 Inuit communities it represents, focusing on the political, social and economic development of the region.

Lisa Koperqualuk, communications officer for the corporation, said Makivik has a number of proud accomplishments to look back on, from its work to ensure Aboriginal rights were addressed in the Canadian Constitution of 1982, to its efforts to win compensation for the people of Inukjuak, whom the federal government relocated to the high Arctic in the early 1950s.

The corporation has also been involved in preserving and promoting the culture of the Inuit of Nunavik. One example of these efforts is Ivakkak, an annual husky dog team race the corporation has organized for the past three years, both as a way to increase public awareness of the federal government's slaughter of husky dogs in the 1960s, and to try to breathe fresh life into traditional dog sledding.

The race route takes participating teams along the coast and through the villages, where the people eagerly await their arrival.

"The first couple of races, people were very excited to see the dog teams, because the Elders hadn't seen this type of thing in quite a long time, and they would cry with joy," Koperqualuk said. "It's a way of encouraging the return of the husky dog and the dog team. And it's coming back very nicely."

Another big part of what the Makivik Corporation does is work tocreate and attract economic development opportunities in the region, but creating jobs and business opportunities in the Arctic is not without its challenges, Koperqualuk explained. Those challenges include the fragile nature of the arctic environment, the high cost of transporting goods and people into the area, and the limited amount of territory the Inuit actually have claim to under the terms of the JBNQA.

Despite those challenges, Makivik has established a number of successful ventures over the years, including Air Inuit, which serves the region of Nunavik, and First Air, which the corporation purchased in 1990, and which provides air service to the Arctic.

"Then there's also other subsidiary companies such as Nunavik Arctic Foods, that specializes in, for example, special products like caribou pate and sausages, and its market is more the southern market, such as Montreal and Toronto, and the overlying areas. It even sells in locations outside of Canada." Koperqualuk said.

Another successful venture for Makivik has been Halutik Enterprises, which provides fuel services, operates a garage, rents out heavy equipment, and provides rock crushing and construction services.

"There's also a new venture that Makivik has just opened up now, and it's called Nunavik Creations. We have a young designer for fashion clothing, and she works with Inuit designs mixed with contemporary, modern designs. Her work has been displayed on various fashion shows, including the fur fashion show that's held every year here in Montreal. There's also the boutique, selling clothing from Nunavik, winter clothing, new modern design clothing and so on. So this is a new venture that takes advantage of Nunavik expertise. It's new, and it has a lot of promise right now," Koperqualuk said.

The corporation is also involved in a number of joint ventures, including Unaaq Fisheries Ltd., which harvests shrimp, and Pan Arctic Inuit Logistics, which operates and maintains the 53 radar sites that mke up the North warning system. Makivik is a partner is Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping, and Natsiq Investments, which works to create economic development opportunities relating to the traditional seal hunt.

A recently completed study shows that one of the Nunavik communities has the highest tide in the world, something Aatami hopes will draw tourists into the area. A crater lake in the region that is about to be opened up to tourists is another attraction, which will likely translate into jobs for local Inuit, and opportunities for local people to start up businesses of their own, providing products and services to the tourists coming into the area.

One of the challenges that the corporation will face in positioning Nunavik as a tourism destination will be overcoming the public's perception of the region, Aatami explained.

"It's not easy, because before people considered our region just rock and snow. Now we have to convince the world that it's not just rock and snow, there's beauty to it."

While Makivik has a 25-year history dotted with successes, the future holds many challenges and opportunities for the corporation, and for the people it represents. One of the biggest challenges, according to Aatami, is creating opportunities for the next generation.

"We have a very young population, so we have a very big challenge ahead of us in creating employment for our youth. We have to show the youth that are growing up right now that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, that there'll be jobs for them. So we're trying to figure out, trying to find a solution to the problem that we're going to see in 10, 15 years, when all these youth grow up and want to find jobs in their own communities. So that's a challenge that we're trying to tackle right now, to try to find a solution. And looking at what we have in our own regions."

Another challenge the corporation faces is its ongoing efforts to achieve self-government for the Inuit of Northern Quebec. But after woring toward that goal for the past three decades, being able to govern themselves is something that may soon be within their grasp.

"We just signed a framework agreement with the Quebec government, and we'll be signing with the federal government. So we're starting to work at a possible government in the future, hopefully in the very near future, that we'll form our own form of government in our own region," Aatami said.

"Once we do have our own form of government, if we do have a government, we'll have a say in what happens in our region. So once you have a say, basically you're controlling your own destiny."