Sheila Watt-Cloutier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sheila Watt-Cloutier
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Watt-Cloutier in 2009
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| Born | 2 December 1953 Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, Quebec, Canada
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| Occupation | Activist |
| Awards | Order of Canada, Right Livelihood Award |
Sheila Watt-Cloutier OC (born 2 December 1953) is an amazing Canadian activist from the Inuk people. She has worked as a leader for Inuit people in Canada and around the world. She was even the International Chair for the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), a group that speaks up for Inuit people across the Arctic.
Sheila has focused on important issues like pollution (called persistent organic pollutants or POPs) and climate change, which greatly affect Inuit communities. She has won many awards and has been featured in movies and news stories because of her important work. Today, she helps advise groups like Canada's Ecofiscal Commission and the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
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Sheila Watt-Cloutier was born in Kuujjuaq, a community in Nunavik, Northern Quebec, Canada. Her mother was a well-known healer and interpreter in Nunavik. Her father was an officer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
For the first ten years of her life, Sheila lived a traditional Inuit lifestyle. She traveled across the land by dog sled. Later, she was sent away to school in Nova Scotia and Churchill, Manitoba. These schools were part of the Canadian Indian residential school system.
Early Work and Education
In the mid-1970s, Sheila worked at the Ungava Hospital. She was an Inuktitut translator. She worked hard to make education and health care better for people.
From 1991 to 1995, she helped review the education system in Northern Quebec. This work led to an important report in 1992 called Silaturnimut - The Pathway to Wisdom. Sheila also helped create a video for young people, Capturing Spirit: The Inuit Journey.
Standing Up for Inuit Rights
Sheila Watt-Cloutier has been a strong voice for Inuit people for over ten years. From 1995 to 1998, she worked for Makivik Corporation. This group was set up to manage Inuit land claims in Northern Quebec.
In 1995, she became President of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada. She was re-elected in 1998. The ICC works internationally to represent Inuit interests in Russia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.
Fighting Pollution
In her role, Sheila spoke for indigenous peoples in the Arctic. She helped during the talks for the Stockholm Convention. This agreement banned the making and use of harmful chemicals called persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These include chemicals like Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) and DDT.
These chemicals pollute the Arctic food chain. They build up in the bodies of Inuit people. Many Inuit still rely on local foods from their land and waters.
Addressing Climate Change
In 2002, Sheila was chosen as the International Chair of the ICC. She held this position until 2006. Her work then focused on how climate change affects people's lives in the Arctic.
On December 7, 2005, she took a big step. She launched the world's first international legal action about climate change. She and 62 Inuit hunters and Elders from Canada and Alaska filed a petition. They sent it to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
They argued that too many greenhouse gases from the United States were harming Inuit human rights. These rights are protected by the 1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. Even though the Commission did not hear her petition, they invited Sheila to speak. She testified at their first hearing on climate change and human rights in March 2007.
Awards and Special Recognition
Sheila Watt-Cloutier has received many awards and honors for her important work.
- 2002: Global Environment Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in Washington, D.C., United States.
- 2004: National Aboriginal Achievement Award (Environment) from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (now Indspire) in Ontario.
- 2005: Sophie Prize in Oslo, Norway; Champion of the Earth Award from the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, Kenya; and the Governor General's Northern Medal in Ottawa, Ontario.
- 2006: International Environmental Leadership Award in Los Angeles, California, United States; Honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Citation of Lifetime Achievement from the Canadian Environment Awards in Vancouver, British Columbia; International Environment Award from Earth Day Canada in Toronto, Ontario; Order of Greenland in Barrow (now Utqiagvik), Alaska, United States; and Officer of the Order of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario.
- 2007: She was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. She also received the Rachel Carson Prize in Stavanger, Norway, and the Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Award in New York City, New York, United States.
- 2008: Testimonial Award in Toronto, Ontario. She also received many Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from universities across Canada, including the University of Ottawa, University of Guelph, University of Windsor, Royal Roads University, Wilfrid Laurier University, McMaster University, and an Honorary Doctorate from Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Quebec City, Quebec. She was also named one of the "Heroes of the Environment" by Time magazine.
- 2009: Gave the 9th Annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She also received Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Western Ontario, University of Alberta, and Queen's University. She received a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, United States.
- 2010: Named Nation Builder of the Decade: Environment by The Globe and Mail. She also received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Victoria.
- 2011: Received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Northern British Columbia.
- 2012: Received Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Thompson Rivers University and Mount Allison University.
- 2015: Received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from York University. She also won The Right Livelihood Award. This award recognized her "lifelong work to protect the Inuit of the Arctic and defend their right to maintain their livelihoods and culture, which are acutely threatened by climate change."
Personal Life
Sheila Watt-Cloutier has a daughter, a son, and a grandson. Before moving back to Kuujjuaq, she lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut for 15 years.
See also
In Spanish: Sheila Watt-Cloutier para niños
