About
01

Mission

Mission

We are a not-for-profit Inuit association mandated to protect the harvesting rights of Inuit while ensuring that it is done sustainably. We act as an umbrella organization for all wildlife issues and provide direction on harvest, conservation, and research. The many names of our organization, which include the Anguvigaq, the Nunavik Hunting Fishing Trapping Association (NHFTA) and the Regional Nunavimmi Uumajulirijiit Katutjiqatigiinninga (RNUK), signify different periods of our organization’s development and responsibilities assigned through the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement.

We support the Anguvigait, also known as the Local Hunting Fishing Trapping Associations (LHFTAs) or the Local Nunavimmi Uumajulirijiit Katutjiqatigiinninga (LNUKs), which are elected in each of the fifteen Inuit communities for the purpose of local wildlife and harvesting management. In each community, Anguvigait board members are hunters, trappers, or fishermen whose knowledge and expertise allow them to represent community wildlife priorities and concerns. They determine local management actions and communicate concerns to the regional level.

Our specific objectives:

  • Ensure the conservation of wildlife resources with the view of sustainable harvesting for current and future generations;
  • Protect wildlife habitats;
  • Guarantee the priority of subsistence harvesting over any other use of wildlife;
  • Ensure the recognition of the role of Inuit expertise in the co-management of wildlife resources;
  • Educate, train and organize Inuit and Inuit institutions towards managing wildlife ourselves.
02

Team

Team

Executive Team

Picture of James May James May President Tasiujaq Picture of Billy Palliser Billy Palliser Vice President Puvirnituq Picture of Daniel Oovaut Daniel Oovaut Treasurer Quaqtaq Picture of Billy Dan May Billy Dan May Executive Secretary Tasiujaq

Staff

Picture of Mikhaela Neelin Mikhaela Neelin Executive Director Tasiujaq Picture of Joy Aragootak Joy Aragootak Wildlife Secretariat Manager Kuujjuarapik Picture of Sasha Kokiapik Sasha Kokiapik Wildlife Secretariat Administrator Inukjuak Picture of Raymond Mickpegak Raymond Mickpegak Harvest Monitoring Coordinator Kuujjuarapik Picture of Alec Niviaxie Alec Niviaxie Regional Project Coordinator Umiujaq Picture of Mary Berthe Mary Berthe Communications Director Tasiujaq

Join our team

We accept job applications throughout the year via our application form or at info@anguvigaq.ca. Please note that we will keep your application on file until an opportunity comes up.

See Jobs Available
03

Board Members

Board Members
Picture of James May James May President Tasiujaq Picture of Billy Palliser Billy Palliser Vice President Puvirnituq Picture of Daniel Oovaut Daniel Oovaut Treasurer Quaqtaq Picture of Billy Dan May Billy Dan May Executive Secretary Tasiujaq

Local Representatives

Ruby Menarick Chisasibi Daphne Tooktoo Kuujjuarapik Johnny Kasudluak Umiujaq Jobie Oweetaluktuk Inukjuak Aisa Surusilak Puvirnituq Eli Angiyou Akulivik Paulusie Tarriasuk Ivujivik Adamie Kaitak Salluit Michael Qisiiq Kangiqsujuaq Johnny Oovaut Quaqtaq Noah Eetok Kangirsuk Johnny Akpahatak Aupaluk Billy Dan May Tasiujaq George Kauki Kuujjuaq Jaiku Angnatuk Kangiqsualujjuaq
04

Committees

Committees

We represent Nunavik Inuit on various wildlife committees and working groups at a regional, provincial, and national level. We provide direction, decisions, and advice on wildlife issues to management authorities and to other Nunavik institutions, ensuring that Inuit knowledge is valued and upheld.

A range of issues are covered in these meetings, which focus on Nunavik wildlife abundance, health, and accessibility to Inuit harvesters. Topics include: species conservation listings, protected areas, wildlife management plans, animal health, population assessments, research approval and supervision, priorities for funding allocations, and mitigation of impacts from mining and transport.

Participation in these meetings by our team members is key to ensuring the prioritization of Inuit expertise in the governance of Nunavik land and wildlife.
The Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Coordinating Committee (HFTCC) The Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Coordinating Committee (HFTCC) was created in 1976 under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA), and is an expert body made up of Indigenous and government members. The HFTCC is responsible for reviewing, managing, and supervising hunting, fishing, trapping, and outfitting activities in the JBNQA territory (onshore areas). The HFTCC also acts as a consultative body to responsible governments in the creation of harvesting regulations and management measures.
James May
 Polar Bear Technical Committee (PBTC) The Polar Bear Technical Committee (PBTC) reviews scientific research and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge to create annual status assessments of polar bear subpopulations in Canada. Representatives include scientists, Indigenous experts, Wildlife Management Boards, and international partners who manage shared populations with Canada. These status assessments and recommendations support the Polar Bear Administrative Committee (PBAC) in discussions of coordinated polar bear management. We act as observers and invited experts to these meetings.
Billy Palliser
Mikhaela Neelin
 Ungava Peninsula Caribou Aboriginal Round Table (UPCART) The Ungava Peninsula Caribou Aboriginal Round Table (UPCART) is comprised of the Inuit of Nunavik and Labrador, the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, the Cree Nation Government, and Quebec Innu communities. The representatives of these groups met to create a strategy to preserve caribou for the well-being of present and future generations. In 2017, UPCART released a strategy called "A Long Time Ago in the Future: Caribou and the People of Ungava”, providing strategic direction for caribou management on the Ungava Peninsula.
James May
 Nunavik Caribou Protection Plan Committee The Nunavik Caribou Protection Plan Committee is developing the Nunavik Caribou Protection Plan, which will be a strategy for stewardship of all caribou in Nunavik. The protection plan relies upon the Nunavik Inuit Knowledge of Caribou report as well as the management strategy developed through UPCART. The purpose of this protection plan will be to maintain healthy herds of caribou for future generations of Nunavimmiut, to further Nunavik Inuit self-determination in wildlife management, and to reinforce traditional stewardship practices. We are leading the creation of this plan collaboratively with Makivvik, and are guided by a Steering Committee of knowledgeable hunters and Elders.
James May and Billy Palliser
Mikhaela Neelin
 Atanniuvik Steering Committee The Steering Committee is shaping and establishing the new research governance organization, Atanniuvik, which will ensure that Inuit values are honoured and respected in all research conducted in Nunavik. The Steering Committee is defining the structure and functions of Atanniuvik so that the organization can become fully operational in the coming years.
Mikhaela Neelin
 Harvesting and Food Security Working Group The Harvesting and Food Security Working Group was one of five working groups (Harvesting and Food Security, Culture and Learning, Health and Safety, Economy and Business, Infrastructure and Community Services) working on the creation of the Nunavik Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) through workshops and meetings. The Strategy, led by Makivvik, addresses climate change challenges and approaches to adaptation strategies in Nunavik. The strategy is nearly complete, after which a new committee will be created: the Regional Climate Change Committee which will oversee the implementation of the NCCAS.
Mikhaela Neelin
 National Inuit Wildlife Committee (NIWC) The National Inuit Wildlife Committee (NIWC) is hosted by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and is a forum for Inuit representative organizations across Canada to discuss coordinated wildlife research and management action. Discussions include Canada-wide wildlife governance structure and the prioritization of Inuit knowledge in these processes. Committee members include representatives from ITK, Nunavut, Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
Daniel Oovaut
Mikhaela Neelin
 Nunavik Nutrition and Health Committee (NRBHSS) The Nunavik Nutrition and Health Committee (NNHC) is an advisory committee to the Director of Public Health. The objective of the NNHC is to ensure regional coordination and communication on issues related to environmental health, nutrition and contaminants. More specifically, the NNHC serves as liaison between researchers and the Nunavik communities and provides information necessary for the public’s understanding of data related to environmental health and contaminants in Nunavik. We participate in the NNHC mainly in regards to discussions relating to harvesting data and contaminants in wildlife.
Mikhaela Neelin
 Imilik, Kovik, and Eastern Hudson Bay Arc Committees The Imilik, Kovik, and Eastern Hudson Bay Arc Committees focus on region-specific concerns and management of wildlife. These committees gather together the Anguvigapiit representing the nearby communities and serve as forums to discuss shared harvesting and wildlife management.
James May, Billy Palliser and Daniel Oovaut
05

History

History

Our organization was created on May 17, 1993 as an umbrella organization mandated to represent Nunavik Inuit harvesters on all wildlife issues, both land and marine. We became incorporated as a not-for-profit association under the Quebec Companies Act on May 5, 1995.

In Inuktitut, our organization was named after a traditional hunting tool, an ᐊᖑᕕᒐᖅ (Anguvigaq). In English, we were called the “Nunavik Hunting Fishing Trapping Association” (NHFTA). Our head office was established in Kuujjuaq and four Executives were elected by Nunavik harvesters to represent their concerns and priorities. One of these executives was appointed to the Hunting Fishing Trapping Coordinating Committee (HFTCC), which is mandated in Section 24 of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) to review, manage, and supervise the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Regime of the Territory.

In 2008, the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement (NILCA) came into effect, which formally recognized the offshore wildlife management mandate of the Anguvigaq and assigned our organization with a new name: the Regional Nunavimmi Uumajulirijiit Katutjiqatigiinninga (RNUK).

The fifteen local associations went through the same process on a smaller scale in each community. Although the Anguvigait (Local Hunting Fishing Trapping Associations) are registered as unique organizations with the Quebec Registry, they all fall under the responsibility of the Anguvigaq / NHFTA and are unified in structure, funding, training, and function. The Board of Directors for our regional organization is composed of the presidents of the Anguvigait.