Gwich'in council leaders say Town of Inuvik excluding them from community decisions

Dez Loreen · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 5:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 34 minutes ago

The president of the Nihtat Gwich'in Council successful Inuvik, N.W.T., said helium wants to spot much effort from the Town of Inuvik erstwhile it comes to including the Gwich'in enactment successful determination making successful the community.

Inuvik lies successful the Gwich'in Settlement Area and the Nihtat Gwich'in Council is portion of the Gwich'in Tribal Council. 

Kelly McLeod, president of the Nihtat Gwich'in Council, said helium has concerns with the way the municipality lays retired its assemblage program and zoning. He said due to the fact that Inuvik is successful Gwich'in territory, his council should person much engagement successful the town readying process. 

"We've been dealing with a fig of important issues and implicit the past fewer months it's escalated — and we anticipation the Town of Inuvik changes its presumption connected these matters," said McLeod.

"Inuvik is simply a precise divers and multicultural community. It is simply a shared community, but we are rights-holders, we're not conscionable stakeholders."

McLeod says the Town of Inuvik has not been decently respecting the rights of Gwich'in.

'Negative vigor ne'er does anything,' politician says

Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson said helium wants to amended connection with McLeod and the Nihtat Gwich'in Council, saying helium wishes it "wasn't truthful negative."

"Negative vigor ne'er does thing for a community. We request to travel unneurotic and enactment unneurotic arsenic an full assemblage and that's wherever everyone comes unneurotic and works arsenic an adjacent partner," said Clarkson.

In December, the municipality launched a caller initiative to bring stakeholders successful the assemblage unneurotic to pass each different of what is happening. The Inuvik Leadership Council radical started gathering successful December 2024 and is composed of municipality representatives, section Indigenous governments, and MLAs.

Clarkson said each levels of Indigenous and non-Indigenous enactment get input into the community.

Nihtat is portion of the Inuvik Leadership Council and McLeod has attended a mates of its meetings since it was launched successful December. But helium besides wants much clarity astir roles and responsibilities earlier Nihtat signs connected to the group's memorandum of agreement.

The politician sent a missive connected behalf of the municipality to Nihtat connected Thursday, saying Nihtat's presumption was "disappointing." Clarkson besides suggests that Nihtat leaders had misunderstood the intent and quality of the Inuvik Leadership Council, which helium said is astir "sharing accusation and moving unneurotic connected communal issues oregon concerns and supporting each other."

McLeod says the Nihtat Gwich'in Council volition reappraisal the town's letter before responding.

McLeod says the contented is astir reconciliation.

"With respect to reconciliation, it's not conscionable a connection — it's a commitment. We are much than blessed to beryllium astatine the tables and person the pugnacious discussions we request to have," helium said. 

"The days that we're disrespected connected our colony lands are coming to an end."