Committee for Original Peoples Entitlement

During a meeting held in Inuvik on January 28, 1970, 19 people decided to form the Committee for Original Peoples Entitlement (COPE). It was to represent the interests of Aboriginal people in the western Arctic after oil was discovered on their land.

The committee and its supporters were aware of the plans the government and oil and gas, and mineral exploitation companies had for the region. They were also aware that traditional lands and ways of life would be negatively impacted. Most of the benefits from that development could leave the region unless they were able to affect change.

COPE was an active participant in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry and National Energy Board hearings, organized the first conference of Arctic Native People in Kugluktuk (then known as Coppermine). They helped start the Northern Games, and helped preserve the history and heritage of Aboriginal people by interviewing and taping elders. They produced weekly podcasts in Aboriginal languages, supported Aboriginal business ventures, and lobbied for adequate housing for low-income families.

To promote the interests of the Inuvialuit they established the Inuvialuit Games Council to manage wildlife resources, and the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, a business corporation with a number of wide-ranging activities in the Inuvialuit region.

COPE also published a bi-weekly newsletter titled AKANA, and quarterly magazine titled Inuvialuit.

In 1981 COPE formed an Inuvialuktan Language Commission to initiate a long-term language project to maintain and preserve the three Inuvilluktan dialects of the Western Arctic.

On June 5th, 1984, ten years after negotiations began, COPE and the Government of Canada signed the "Inuvialuit Final Agreement" (IFA) - the first comprehensive land claim agreement north of the 60th parallel. The agreement recognized Inuvialuit ownership of 91,000 sq/km of land that includes 13,000 sq/km with subsurface rights to oil, gas and minerals. The IFA further established the right of the Inuvialuit people to hunt and harvest anywhere within the claim area. It established various Inuvialuit corporations to manage and administer land claim agreement benefits. It also established various councils and co-management bodies to represent Inuvialuit interests with respect to wildlife and wildlife management.