INUVIK
Inuvik is poised to grow substantially in the next week as the Inuit Circumpolar Council Assembly comes to town.

The Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly is coming to Inuvik July 21. It was last held in Greenland in 2010. - photo courtesy of Peggy Jay

The event, which features both the assembly and the Northern Games, will bring at least 600 official delegates and athletes to town. That doesn't include the throngs which will descend from around the NWT, Nunavut, Yukon, Alaska and beyond.

The official visitors attending the assembly and games will come from Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Russia, making it a truly multinational event.

Peggy Jay, who is co-ordinating the conference, and Nellie Cournoyea, a senior executive at the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, said it's going to be a cultural and sporting spectacle and a celebration of Inuit culture that hasn't been seen here since 1992, when the ICC last was held in Inuvik. Cournoyea said that particularly with Alaskan delegates and athletes attending, people from around the region will flock to Inuvik.

There are strong family ties among the Inuit people of the NWT and Alaska, she said, and those are treasured, although they don't see as much of each other as they might like.

That's presented a logistical challenge, particularly for accommodations, Jay said, but it's all rounding into shape.

A barge along the river is being pressed into service to help out with accommodations, while Northwind Industries has chipped in with a work camp to be set up near Aurora College.

The college campus itself is helping to provide what housing it can as well, juggling the needs of the Great Northern Arts Festival, which finishes up just as the general assembly will begin.

Between the ICC and the Great Northern Arts Festival, it seems like every available space in town is likely to be occupied, including the three Inuvik hotels. Many people are also billeting visitors, Jay said.

Cournoyea added that while the billeting numbers are good, many people have also reserved some otherwise available space for their incoming friends and family. That's led to some creative solutions, including the work camp and barges.

That's expected to be good news for those in the hospitality industry and tourism businesses, along with the food industry.

While the conference and assembly will attract a lot of political attention, Cournoyea said the cultural and sporting events will attract just as much or more interest.

Those event will continue throughout the days and into the evenings during the week, Jay and Cournoyea said.

There will also be feasts, barbecues, and a variety of cultural entertainment that will appeal to the wide audience expected to attend.

Cournoyea and Jay are both concentrating on the cultural end of the general assembly, and said they couldn't comment on the issues likely to be discussed on the political side.

Duane Smith, the president of Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada, said the assembly will be taking a "big picture" look at everything to do with the Arctic.

"Anything and everything is going to be on the agenda pretty well, from community issues to food security to infrastructure, climate change resource development and extraction, and shipping and political involvement in the Arctic.

"This is the gathering of the Inuit leaders from the Circumpolar Arctic to get together and discuss the issues that are affecting who we are, our identity, our culture, our way of life, our survival and to develop a co-ordinated approach and maximize our opportunities."

The key point of the assembly, he said, will be the directives and declaration issued by the leadership as it wraps up.

"That will be the mandate of the executive council," he said.

Like Jay and Cournoyea, Smith said most of the people attending the assembly and Northern Games will be coming to enjoy the celebration of Inuit culture.

It will take hundreds of volunteers to help run the event, Jay said, and organizers are still looking for more people to help. Interestingly, many people are returning to volunteer who also attended the 1992 conference, Jay said.

"They've been saying they've had such a good time they wanted to come back."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is the honorary patron of the assembly, is tentatively scheduled to appear via video link.