Rankin Inlet (Dec 10/03) - The community of Rankin Inlet rolled out the red carpet for a visiting group of Russian delegates this past week.

The group was in the Kivalliq representing the Institution Building for Northern Russian Indigenous Peoples project.

The visit was sponsored by the federal government in partnership with the Inuit Circumpolar Office of Canada.

Robert Connelly is the acting director of community operations and the manager of community economic development for the Department of Sustainable Development.

Connelly says many areas of Russia are home to indigenous populations.

He says the group came to Rankin to learn about economic development in Nunavut because of common issues shared by Northern regions of the world.

"They want to learn how Nunavut is trying to develop its own economy and how the Land Claims Agreement is impacting that development," says Connelly.

"The group also wanted to learn more about how the government and Inuit organizations are trying to work together to develop a strong economy, create and sustain healthy Inuit-owned businesses and major development initiatives for this region."

Sharing experiences

Connelly says the Russian visitors shared their experiences in areas such as reindeer harvesting.

"They've developed their own harvesting methods, and were eager to share ideas with Kivalliq Arctic Foods and, to a certain extent, Coral Harbour. They were particularly interested in how our annual caribou hunt is organized and what kinds of markets are being explored."

The group attended a number of economic-development workshops during their stay, toured Kivalliq Arctic Foods and the Ivalu shop, and were treated to a fashion show and displays of throat singing, drum dancing and traditional games.

As for the possibility of a reciprocal visit, Connelly says both the federal and Nunavut governments are always open to information sharing sessions.

"Canada took part in a similar visit to Russia this past spring, and this project was intended to build upon that.

"Our government would like to see more of this in order to learn as much from each other as we can."