by Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Sep 29/97) - Okalik Eegeesiak of Iqaluit has been elected Inuit Tapirisat of Canada president.

She defeated incumbent Mary Sillett in a two-woman race Sunday, Sept. 25, in Inuvik.

Eegeesiak, who ran as the Conservative candidate for Nunavut in the June federal election but lost to Liberal Nancy Karetak-Lindell, will have to resign from her position as executive director of training at Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Delegates voting Sunday included the four regional land claim organization presidents plus two delegates from each region.

"National unity is an issue Inuit have to be involved in," she said.

Another is research on contaminants in the Arctic, she said.

But perhaps the biggest challenge will be financial, she added.

The Tapirisat has run a deficit for a few years and as a result has been downsized, she said.

"The board has to focus on what they want the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada to do with its limited resources."

The Inuit Tapirisat is a non-profit organization serving Canada's Inuit.

Formed in 1971, the Tapirisat represents more than 41,000 Inuit living in 55 communities in the Northwest Territories, northern Quebec and Labrador. The 41,000 Canadian Inuit are part of about 115,000 Inuit living in Canada, Greenland, Alaska and Russia.

Based in Ottawa, it is the national voice of Canada's Inuit and addresses important issues on preservation of Inuit identity and culture.

Since most Canadian Inuit are now beneficiaries of land claims, the Tapirisat's role in Inuit politics has diminished, but it continues to lobby and work for recognition of its members' rights.

Among its remaining aims is entrenching aboriginal self-government in the Canadian Constitution, protecting the environment so future generations of Inuit can enjoy their traditional relationship with the land and sea, and improving communications between Inuit communities.

Its regional member organizations include the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Labrador Inuit Association, Makivik Corporation and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Joining Eegeesiak on the executive are vice-president Sheila Watt Cloutier of Lachine, Que., and secretary-treasurer Jose Kusugak of Iqaluit.

Other directors are Nellie Cournoyea of Inuvik, Jollie Enoogoo of Pond Inlet, Martha Flaherty of Pauktuutit, Zebedee Nungak of Lachine and William Barbour of Nain, Labrador.