Rosemarie Kuptana

Rosemarie Esther Kuptana CM, LL.D. (b. 1954 near Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories) is a Canadian Inuvialuit politician, Inuit rights activist, broadcaster and journalist. Besides serving with several Inuit organisations she was president of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation. She lives in the Ottawa area and has three children.^[1]

Early life

Kuptana was born in 1954 in an igloo on the Prince of Wales Strait while her parents, William and Sarah Kuptana, were seal hunting. The family was living a traditional, nomadic lifestyle and it wasn't until 1958 that they permanently relocated to Sachs Harbour on Banks Island. Her father had moved to the community to help build the weather station.^[2]

Growing up in Sachs, Kuptana only spoke Inuvialuktun until at the age of seven or eight, she was forcibly taken by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to the residential school in Inuvik about 525 km (326 mi) to the southwest. At school, she was not permitted to speak her own language and forced to adopt an alien culture. After 10 years in the school system, she lost the ability to speak Inuvialuktun, making communication with elders in her home community difficult, although she later relearned the language.^[1][2]

CBC and IBC

In 1979, she joined CBC Northern Service as a radio broadcaster, where she reported on issues that were relevant to the Inuvialuit. While at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, her broadcasts were in Inuvialuktun and they were heard throughout the Western Arctic.^[1][2][3][4]

She later joined the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation as a production coordinator and became president of the corporation in 1983, remaining until 1988. As president, she ensured that programs were shown using Inuktitut. She also worked on standards and training programs. She was involved in the setting up of Television Northern Canada, later to become the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.^[1][2][3][4]

Political life

Kuptana had been involved in Inuit rights and land claims since 1975, and in 1986, she became the Canadian vice chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, now the Inuit Circumpolar Council. She remained in that position until 1989. In 1991, she became chair of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, now Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.^[1][2][3][4]

In 1995, she became President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and was involved in the setting up of the Arctic Council. She has also worked with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Migratory Bird Treaty and on Inuit residential school experience where she helped Inuit in receiving compensation.^[1][2][3][4]

Awards

In 1988, she became a Member of the Order of Canada and ten years later, in 1998, she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.^[5] She has received the Governor General's Confederation Medal and in 1994, was given a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, now the Indspire Awards. In 2002, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal^[6] and in 2012, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.^[7] She has also received honorary doctorates from Trent and York Universities.^[1][2][3][4]

See also

• The Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation

References

1. "Biographic Sketch of Rosemarie Kuptana, President, Inuit Circumpolar Conference". The Fourth World Documentation Project. Archived from the original on 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
2. Hager, Barbara. "Rosemarie Kuptana". Archived from the original on 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
3. "Rosemarie Kuptana at Indspire". Indspire. Archived from the original on 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
4. "Rosemarie Kuptana at Dene Nahjo". Dene Nahjo. Archived from the original on 2016-07-09. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
5. "Order of Canada Rosemarie Esther Kuptana, O.C., LL.D.". Office of the Governor General. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
6. "The Golden Jubilee Medal". Office of the Governor General. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
7. "The Diamond Jubilee Medal". Office of the Governor General. Retrieved 2016-07-16.