Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Tuktoyaktuk (June 10/02) - Two national Inuit organizations held meetings in Tuktoyaktuk last week.

The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (formerly called Inuit Tapirisat) held its annual general meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a meeting of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference Canada board members Thursday.

"What we're working on is restructuring our relationship with the federal government, ensuring that the federal government treats Inuit as a separate and distinct people," said ITK spokesperson Stephen Hendrie.

"The Inuit of Canada have all signed their comprehensive land claims, so we're looking at what's the ITK mandate now -- what are the major issues we have to deal with."

About 25 people from the four Inuit regions attended the meetings. The regions represented by ITK include the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the NWT, Nunavut, Nunavik in northern Quebec, and Labrador. ITK's annual general meetings are held in a different Inuit community each year.

Delegates for the Inuit Circumpolar Conference heard reports on preparations for the ninth Inuit Circumpolar Conference General Assembly.

That meeting, scheduled to be held in Kuujjuaq, Que., Aug. 12 to 17, is expected to draw hundreds of representatives from Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia.