Biographic Sketch of Rosemarie Kuptana, President, Inuit Circumpolar Conference
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DOCUMENT: KUPTANA.TXT
P R O F I L E
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ROSEMARIE KUPTANA
PRESIDENT, INUIT CIRCUMPOLAR CONFERENCE
Born in 1954, Rosemarie Kuptana grew up in a traditional
Inuit hunting society and spoke only Inuvialuktun (the
Western Arctic dialect of the Inuit language) until the age
of eight. Her home community of Sachs Harbour, Northwest
Territories is a village of about 100 people on the Beaufort
Sea in the far western Arctic region of Canada.
At eight, Rosemarie was taken away by police from her family
and community to attend a government residential school for
indigenous children four hundreds miles away from her home.
As was typical of the education policies applied to
indigenous peoples in the 1960's and early 1970 s, she was
forced to speak only English and to adopt a foreign way of
living. Her early struggles to resist assimilation into
white Euro-Canadian culture helped shaped Ms. Kuptana's
determination throughout her adult life to promote Inuit
culture and defend the Inuit right to self-determination.
She has been guided by the values instilled in her by her
parents, William and Sarah Kuptana, her grandparents and
extended Inuit family.
Rosemarie became involved in Inuit organizations around 1975
when discussions first began between Inuit and the
Government of Canada to reach formal agreements regarding
Inuit land rights.
In 1979, Rosemarie began a career in broadcasting by joining
the Northern Service Branch of the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, hosting morning and radio shows on CBC Western
Arctic. Her programs focused on the cultural, social and
political issues of the day, including the Inuvialuit land
claim negotiations and the oil and gas exploration taking
place in the Beaufort Sea.
Rosemarie subsequently joined the Inuit Broadcasting
Corporation (IBC). IBC was established with a mandate to
produce and transmit radio and T.V. programs in Inuktitut,
as well as to reflect, and provide information on,
contemporary and traditional Inuit life.
Ms. Kuptana served the IBC as a Production Coordinator and
as President of the Corporation, from 1983 to 1988. Ms.
Kuptana has also participated in the design, planning and
launching of Television Northern Canada - the first all
northern television network serving most of the Canadian
Arctic.
After leaving broadcasting, Ms. Kuptana worked towards the
advancement of Inuit rights in several Inuit political
organizations. From 1986 to 1989, she was Canadian Vice-
President for the Inuit Circumpolar Conference -- the
international organization which represents the collective
interests and identity of the Inuit people living in the
Arctic and subarctic regions of four circumpolar countries
(Russia, Alaska, U.S.A., Canada and Greenland).
From April 1991 to June 1996, Ms. Kuptana served as
President of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, the national
political voice of Inuit in Canada. During this period, she
was the lead Inuit negotiator in Canadian constitutional
negotiations in which Inuit sought (and came close to
winning) recognition of the inherent right of self-
government of indigenous peoples. Ms. Kuptana has also been
part of a team that successfully negotiated an amendment to
an international treaty for the purpose of recognizing the
constitutionally protected hunting rights of Inuit.
Ms. Kuptana is known as a skilled and determined negotiator,
who is always prepared to defend the Inuit right to self-
determination and the equality rights of indigenous peoples.
She has spoken widely on a range of topics affecting Inuit
life today such as transboundary pollutants, social issues,
constitutional and human rights issues.
In 1995, Ms. Kuptana was elected President of the Inuit
Circumpolar Conference. Currently her work for ICC focuses on:
public education about Inuit life and culture;
environmental protection of the Arctic;
promotion of Inuit views on sustainable development and
resource management;
securing recognition of indigenous peoples right to
self-determination.
Now resident in Ottawa, Ms. Kuptana has one daughter,
Ellice, and two sons, James and Peter. Over the years, Ms.
Kuptana has received many awards for her service in the
protection of Inuit culture and Inuit rights, including the
Order of Canada, the Governor General's Confederation Medal,
1992 Northern of the Year Award, the 1992 MacLean's Magazine
Honour Roll, a 1994 National Aboriginal Achievement Award
and honourary doctorates from Trent University and York
University.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wendy Moss
Special Assistant to the President
Inuit Circumpolar Conference
170 Laurier Ave. W., Suite 500
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5V5
tel: (613) 563-4967
fax: (613) 563-0740
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