|
|
Land Use and Occupancy
Publisher: Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, CanadaYear Published: 1977 Pages: 6pp Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX311 This news release makes reference to an Inuit Tapirisat-commissioned report on Inuit land use and occupancy in the Northwest Territories. Abstract: This news release makes reference to an Inuit Tapirisat-commissioned report on Inuit land use and occupancy in the Northwest Territories. This published three-volume report was prepared by a research team under the direction of Dr. Milton Freemen of McMaster University. The report and its conclusions are seen as further support of the Inuit's land claim position. The land use and occupancy study of the report concludes that modern-day Inuit are anything but "week-end hunters" who work for wages or live on welfare the rest of the week. The Inuit today continue to use their land just about as intensively today as in generations past. The land use and occupancy study is one of the major elements of a comprehensive land-sharing proposal being made to the Federal government by the Inuit Tapirisat on behalf of the 15,000 Inuit who live in the N.W.T. This document attempts to prove that the Inuit have thoroughly used and systematically occupied virtually all of the land (750,000 square miles) north of the tree line for more then 4,000 years. The Inuit are pressing the Federal government to recognize their legal ownership to at least 250,000 square miles of land in order that their culture and identity may be preserved. For the rest of their territory, they want hunting, fishing and trapping rights, the creation of a new territorial government, a share of resource royalties, and a strong voice in the control of development so that the environment and wildlife will be preserved for future generations. The Inuit are not thinking in terms of a separate sovereign nation. Their presentation to the Canadian government is considered as their attempt to co-operate with the rest of Canada as partners in Confederation. Subject Headings |