The national Inuit organization, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, was formally established in 1971 but has roots which reach back to the 1960s.

Inuit called for the organization so that they could have a voice in the country.

But the beginning wasn’t easy; the initial start-up was once rejected by the federal government.

For member of the legislative assembly Tagak Curley, the story of the organization began when he moved from Churchill, Man., to Edmonton, in the 1960s.

He says he found support for the Inuit cause there and started to write and call people in his homeland.

He says he would ask people, ‘Do you want to lose your culture? Is the system working for you?’.

Soon, Curley and his comrades got organized and asked then Indian Affairs Minister Jean Chrétien for some money to get ITK, then called Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, off the ground.

At first, Chrétien rejected the idea. But Curley did not give up and says Chrétien finally gave in after hours of meetings.

Today, ITK is an advocacy group for Inuit across the country. It’s president, Mary Simon, says the organization’s main work has been securing land claims for all the Inuit regions in Canada.

She says today is a chance to reflect on the organization’s accomplishments.

“We never really had an opportunity to talk about what we have accomplished since 1971, and where we are today and what kind of future do we envision,” she said.

Inuit will meet in Ottawa for three days this week to celebrate the past and chart a course for the future.