John Amagoalik (born November 26, 1947) is an

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

politician from Nunavik (Québec). He campaigned for Inuit rights and made a significant contribution to the founding of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. He was Chairman of the Nunavut Implementation Commission and is widely regarded as the "Father of Nunavut".

Early life and education

Amagoalik was born on November 26, 1947, near Inukjuaq in

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...

in northern

Québec Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. In 1953, his family was relocated to

Resolute Bay Resolute Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Named after the Arctic exploration vessel , it is located in Parry Channel on the southern side of Cornwallis Island. The hamlet of Resolute is located on the nor ...

by the Canadian Government and he was educated in residential schools in Resolute Bay, Churchill and Iqaluit. However, Amagoalik stopped his formal education after grade 9 to support his father who had fallen ill with tuberculosis. His families living conditions after their forced relocation to Resolute was poor, with no vegetation or fish. Years later, Amagoalik and other relocated Inuit identifying themselves as "High Arctic exiles" petitioned for

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

to apologize for the relocation.

Career

Amagoalik began his political career as the Baffin Regional Information Officer with the Northwest Territories territorial government from 1971 to 1974. In 1974, Amagoalik was appointed executive director of Nunavut Land Claims Project to claim Inuit land. The following year, he succeeded Tagak E.C. Curley as director of Land Claims for 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 ...

. Amagoalik served two terms as President of the Inuit Tapiriit of Canada before becoming a political adviser to the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut. He was also a member of the Executive Council of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference from 1980 to 1983. After the ratification of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and Nunavut Act in 1993, Amagoalik led the land-claims settlement process with

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI; , ) is the legal representative of the Inuit of Nunavut for the purposes of native treaty rights and treaty negotiation. The presidents of NTI, Makivik Corporation, Nunatsiavut, and the Inuvialuit Regional Co ...

. From 1993 to 1999, Amagoalik served as chair of the Nunavut Implementation Commission, which was a 10-member body that designed Nunavut's public government. He recommended that Nunavut elect a "public government with democratically elected Legislative Assembly

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

will respect individual and collective rights as defined in the

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...

." He was given the nickname "Father of Nunavut" for his efforts in founding the Canadian territory of Nunavut. In 2014, Amagoalik was honoured with the

Order of Nunavut The Order of Nunavut is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Instituted in 2010 it is the highest honour which can be bestowed by the Government of Nunavut. It is intended to honour current and former residents of the ...

. He later received the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

for his “leadership in Canada’s North, notably for his integral role in the creation of Nunavut.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amagoalik, John Living people 1947 births 20th-century Inuit people 21st-century Inuit people Members of the Order of Nunavut Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians in Nunavut Canadian people of Inuit descent Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuit politicians