The Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN, , ) was the organization officially recognized from 1982 to 1993 as representing the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

of what is now

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, but was then part of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, for the purpose of negotiating treaties and

land claim A land claim is "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include Aboriginal title, aboriginal land cla ...

s settlements. In this role, it replaced the

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut syllabics: , meaning "Inuit are united in Canada"), previously known as the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (Eskimo Brotherhood of Canada), is a nonprofit organization in Canada that represents over 65,000 Inuit acro ...

, which represents Inuit across Canada, and has been superseded by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. The Inuit began to emerge as a political force in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the struggle for control over natural resources. This was a real wake-up call for Inuit, and it stimulated the emergence of a new generation of young Inuit activists in the late 1960s. They began networking with one another across the Northwest Territories,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

and in 1982, the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut, or "TFN" had been incorporated to take over the claim negotiation mandate from the

. TFN worked for ten years and, in September 1992, came to a final agreement with the government of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Then, in November 1992, the '' Nunavut Final Agreement'' was approved by nearly 85% of Nunavut Inuit. As the final step in this long process, the ''

Nunavut Land Claims Agreement The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NCLA, ) was signed on May 25, 1993, in Iqaluit, by representatives of the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (now Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated), the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Terri ...

'' was signed on May 25, 1993 in

Iqaluit Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...

by the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

and by Paul Quassa, the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, which replaced the TFN upon the ratification of the Nunavut Final Agreement. The

Canadian Parliament The Parliament of Canada () is the federal legislature of Canada. The Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate and the House of Commons, form the bicameral legislature. The 343 members of the lower house, the House of Commons, are styled a ...

passed the supporting legislation in June of the same year, enabling the eventual establishment of Nunavut as a territorial entity. The land claims agreement was the result of two decades of negotiations that, in the end, gave birth to the largest comprehensive land claims settlement in Canada.

References

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External links

Nunavut Tunngavik IncorporatedInuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Inuit in Canada Inuit organizations Civic and political organizations of Canada Indigenous organizations in Nunavut Indigenous rights organizations in Canada Organizations established in 1982 1982 establishments in Canada