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January 14, 1983

Would the Inuvialuit of the Beaufort Sea region be included within Nunavut? Although the original Nunavut proposal included their region within a treeline boundary, western leaders were adamantly opposed to the idea of giving the oil-rich Beaufort Sea region to the Inuvialuit.

COPE supports Nunavut

Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — The Committee for Original People's Entitlement, representing Inuvialuit in the Western Arctic, have decided to join with the Nunavut Constitutional Forum and support the Beaufort Sea region becoming part of an eastern territory if division of the Northwest Territories goes ahead.

COPE President Peter Green made the announcement at a meeting of the Nunavut Constitutional Forum held in Tuktoyaktuk on January 11 and 12.

Previously, COPE had refused to declare whether it wanted the Beaufort Sea rim around Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk to be part of an eastern territory or a western territory, should division take place.

Members of the Nunavut Constitutional Forum hope that a new eastern territory would include all lands above the treeline, including the Beaufort region, because they consider it traditional territory of the Inuit and Inuvialuit.

But many supporters of a western territory hope the eventual boundary would be drawn to include the Beaufort Sea and its possible oil riches in a western territory.

COPE leaders had said they wanted to take their time in deciding which territory to support because they wanted to assess what the effects of division would be on their own proposal for a Western Arctic Regional Municipality in the Inuvik area.

Mr. Green has said he plans to continue working closely with the Western Constitutional Forum in its planning for a western territory. COPE has been sitting on both the Nunavut and Western Constitutional Forums.

Meanwhile, James Wah-Shee, minister responsible for constitutional development, said that COPE's decision does not guarantee the Beaufort region would become part of an eastern territory. Mr. Wah-Shee said the eventual border between two territories will still have to be decided upon by a vote of all NWT residents.

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