Natan Obed

The Inuit people have been treated as bystanders or test subjects since the moment Western scientists first began studying the Arctic, and the time has come for the northern Indigenous community to have a greater say in the science that takes place in their homeland, the head of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami said on Thursday, March 22, 2018.

Leah was 17 when she first flew to Montreal, in early fall of 2002, and she was scared of heights. As the plane lifted above Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, she kept her eyes on her ten-month-old daughter, Katie. She had never had a bird’s-eye view of her town, built along the Koksoak River, but she couldn’t bear to look down.

Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said “Inuit were not consulted in the creation of the 10 principles,” while Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde said "we weren’t involved in developing a draft of that."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley are the latest prominent voices to urge a public discussion about renaming the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos out of respect for Inuit people.

Edmonton's mayor says he wants the city's Canadian Football League team to start taking steps towards a name change.

"It doesn't make any sense for the first ministers to consider solutions and decide on solutions on our behalf without us in the room," Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami's president said.