A delegation from the NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) attended the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples’ (CAP) 53rd Annual General Assembly (AGA) in Ottawa on September 20-21, 2024.
The AGA brought together delegates from each of CAP’s 11 affiliates from across the country. The agenda included an overview of CAP’s progress over the past year and reviewing and approving resolutions that will guide the work of CAP in the coming year.
This year, NCC brought forward three resolutions that were unanimously passed by the assembly. Each resolution affirmed that NunatuKavut Inuit are an Indigenous collective with section 35 rights, consistent with the courts, research and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The resolutions speak to the politicization of Indspire’s policies that exclude NunatuKavut Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, Indigenous verification and recognition policies being pursued by Canadian universities and the recent violent and misinformation campaigns against NunatuKavut Inuit and other CAP affiliates. The assembly condemned these campaigns and exclusionary and discriminatory policies and gave direction to CAP on taking measures to address them.
During the AGA, an election was held for the positions of National Chief and National Vice Chief. Brendan Moore from the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council was elected National Chief and Shawna Jean from the Indigenous Congress of Alberta Association was elected as National Vice Chief. NCC looks forward to working with each of them during their term in helping advance the mandate of CAP.
NCC would also like to pass along sincere appreciation to outgoing National Chief Elmer St. Pierre and National Vice Chief Kim Beaudin for their dedication and hard work over the past four years.