Jose Kusugak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jose Kusugak
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| President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated | |
| In office 1990–1999 |
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| President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami | |
| In office 2000–2006 |
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| Preceded by | Okalik Eegeesiak |
| Succeeded by | Mary Simon |
| Assistant President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami | |
| In office 1971–1974? |
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| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Area manager for the Kivalliq Region of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | |
| In office 1979/80–1989 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 2, 1950 |
| Died | January 18/19, 2011 Nunavut |
Jose Kusugak was an important Inuk leader and politician from Canada. He was born on May 2, 1950, in Repulse Bay (now called Naujaat, Nunavut). He later moved to Rankin Inlet with his family in 1960. Kusugak played a big role in creating Nunavut, a special territory for the Inuit people in Canada. He passed away on January 18 or 19, 2011.
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Early Life and Education
Jose Kusugak was born in Repulse Bay, which was part of the Northwest Territories at the time. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Rankin Inlet.
He went to school in Chesterfield Inlet and Churchill, Manitoba. After that, he attended high school in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
After finishing his own schooling, Jose Kusugak became a teacher. He taught in both Rankin Inlet and Churchill. He focused on teaching Inuktitut, the Inuit language, and also shared Inuit history with his students.
Working for Inuit Rights
In 1971, Jose Kusugak joined an organization called the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. Today, this group is known as the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK). He worked as an assistant to Tagak Curley, who was the first president of the organization.
Later, Kusugak moved to Arviat. There, he helped create a standard way of writing for Inuktitut syllabics. This made it easier for everyone to read and write in Inuktitut.
Media and Broadcasting Work
In 1979 or 1980, Jose Kusugak started working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). He was the area manager for the Kivalliq Region. He worked at CBC for 10 years.
After his time at CBC, he joined the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation. He helped introduce many new TV and radio shows to their network.
Jose Kusugak became the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI). This organization is one of the four main groups that make up the ITK.
As president of NTI, he had a very important job. He was in charge of talking with the governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories. These talks were about land claims for the Inuit people. A big part of these talks was creating Nunavut.
Nunavut is a special territory in Canada where the Inuit people have more control over their land and government. Because of his hard work in creating Nunavut, Jose Kusugak is sometimes called the "Last Father of Confederation."
Nunavut officially became a territory on April 1, 1999. This happened just five days before his oldest daughter, Aliisa Autut, had her third child.
President of ITK
After his time as president of NTI, Jose Kusugak became the president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK). He served as president for six years.
On May 12, 2006, Jose Kusugak announced that he would be stepping down from his role as president of ITK.
Later Life and Legacy
Jose Kusugak also wrote a short comic book called Kiviuq vs Big Bee. It was published in a collection of comics called Arctic Comics in 2016.
Jose Kusugak was married to Nellie Kusugak. She later became the acting Commissioner of Nunavut. Jose Kusugak passed away in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.
In 2022, Canada honored Jose Kusugak by putting his picture on a Canadian stamp. He was the first of three Indigenous leaders to be featured in this stamp series.
