Land 101
Know the facts. Follow our lead.
About Nunatsiavut
Nunatsiavut means Our Beautiful Land in Inuttitut. Situated in what is now known as Labrador, it is the lands and waters of Labrador Inuit. Nunatsiavut is the only Indigenous self-governing region in what we now call Atlantic Canada.
Labrador Inuit — Nunatsiavummiut — have lived on this land for millennia. As original inhabitants our footprints are everywhere. We have lived here in harmony with the land, ice and sea — where wildlife, fish, and birds thrive.
In 2005, the Labrador Inuit Lands Claims Agreement (LILCA) between Canada, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Labrador Inuit was signed. The treaty affirms and recognizes the Constitutionally-protected rights of Labrador Inuit under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
What's at risk?
The NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) was originally founded as the Labrador Metis Association (LMA) in 1985. Inuit of Canada stand united in saying that members of the Nunatukavut Community Council (NCC) are not Inuit.
At the time of the LILCA negotiations, and during the years of preparation and research for the claim, NCC did not identify its members as Inuit. They rejected any ties to Labrador Inuit and Inuit of Canada, and identified explicitly as a Metis organization. Now they claim to represent Inuit.
The NCC’s land claim encroaches into a significant amount of the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area in Nunatsiavut territory, including the Muskrat Falls and Lower Churchill hydroelectric projects.
The collective and kinship knowledge of Inuit tells us who we are. Inuit across Canada are interconnected through our shared history, land, culture, and language.
Canada knows this, too. The land we live on today was affirmed as our land through a settlement between Canada, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and all Labrador Inuit.
Accepting the NCC’s claim undermines the 30-year Land Claim negotiation process that the Labrador Inuit, the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador undertook, resulting in the LILCA which affirmed our rights and responsibilities.
Recognizing NCC as Inuit is harmful and disrespectful. This is not reconciliation. Our rights to this land and to self-government is rooted in our being here since time immemorial. These rights are affirmed through section 35 of the Constitution and through our treaty.
Canada knows there is only one Inuit collective in Labrador. We are not just protecting our physical boundaries, we are protecting the Inuit way of life and our identity.
