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Inuit vote for new territory of Nunavut

Broadcast Date: Nov. 12, 1992

Self-government, title to the land and over $1 billion over 14 years – these are the gains Inuit in the eastern Arctic have won. A strong 69 per cent of residents voted to accept the historic settlement presented by the federal government. Their new territory will be called Nunavut, which means "our land" in Inuktitut. Local residents respond to the momentous agreement in this CBC Television report.

Inuit vote for new territory of Nunavut

• Approximately 80 per cent of the 9,648 Inuit cast a ballot in the referendum. Residents who did not cast a vote were counted in the No tally. The vote was held over two days from Nov. 3 – 5 in 1992.

• The agreement was created over a period of 15 years. Under the terms of the deal, the Inuit were granted title to roughly 350,000 square kilometres of land – approximately 18 per cent of the eastern Arctic land. The remaining 82 per cent is held by Ottawa. They also received $1.15 billion over 15 years and the right to hunt, fish and trap in the region. In exchange, the Inuit agreed to surrender any other land claims to the rest of the territory.

• On April 1, 1999, the territory of Nunavut was made an official territory of Canada. To learn more about the history of the land claim agreement, please visit our topic Creation of Nunavut.

Inuit vote for new territory of Nunavut

Medium: Television

Program: The National

Broadcast Date: Nov. 12, 1992

Guest(s): James Eetoolook, Mike Louise, Johnny Mike, Paul Quassa

Host: Alison Smith
Reporter: Eric Sorensen

Duration: 3:58

Last updated:
Dec. 8, 2005