IQALUIT
The next chairperson of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) may not have become the prominent leader she is today if she hadn't heard a speech from the leader of the same organization in the mid-1980s.

Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Okalik Eegeesiak is poised to become the next chairperson of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. - NNSL file photo

Okalik Eegeesiak, whose resume reads like a dream for budding politicians, is poised to become the chairperson of the pan-Arctic organization in July.

She said one of her first exposures to Inuit politics was during an ICC assembly in Iqaluit, when she attended a talk by former chairperson Mary Simon.

"I was really inspired and motivated by what Mary was doing," Eegeesiak told Nunavut News/North during an interview in February.

"That was the first big meeting that I was exposed to. She spoke Inuktitut at the time. That really inspired me, and it still inspires me."

That inspiration, coupled with encouragement from her parents, ultimately brought Eegeesiak to throw her hat in the ring of federal politics.

In the 1997 federal election campaign, she unsuccessfully ran to become the Member of Parliament for Nunavut but left a strong impression on voters.

She said despite the loss, people "remembered what I had to say," and it helped her ascend to the head of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami shortly after.

One of Nunavut's most accomplished leaders - she's also lead other influential Inuit organizations such as the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, Nunasi Corporation and is currently president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association - she is not preparing to add another feather to her cap.

In July, the ICC will convene in Inuvik and its board is expected to anoint Eegeesiak as its chairperson and spokesperson for more than 150,000 Inuit living in Canada, Russia, Alaska and Greenland.

The decision was taken back in January, by ICC Canada's six-member board.

The chairmanship normally rotates between the organization's three biggest regional groups: Canada, Greenland and Alaska.

Eegeesiak said she wasn't surprised by the announcement, given her extensive political pedigree, and is "very honoured" to have been nominated to the position by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI).

"Each region had an opportunity to nominate a person, a spokesperson for Inuit internationally," she said.

"I think there has always been a good relationship (between countries where Inuit reside). The Inuit are a cohesive group, more cohesive than other aboriginal groups, and we work well together. We come up with visions that we all agree upon."

The ICC focuses on strengthening unity amongst Inuit, promoting Inuit rights and interests internationally and making sure the development of Inuit culture and society continues to thrive.

Eegeesiak's first task will be to oversee the implementation of the Inuvik Declaration, a list of policies to be implemented over the next four years.

Other goals of hers include improving free trade between Inuit regions and increasing the role of Inuit with other governments.

"I think Canadian Inuit regions have done a good job of opening that up and we could probably use that as an example for other countries," she said.

"I'm excited and really looking forward to the next four years."

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