Committee for Original Peoples Entitlement (COPE) Formed

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

The committee and its supporters were aware of the aggressive scope of plans the government and oil/gas companies had for their region and feared that unless action was taken that they would have no input into non-renewable resource development. They were also concerned that most of the benefits from any development would flow south with Indigenous people benefitting little.

With this in mind COPE identified its main objectives as

• providing a united voice for all original people of the Northwest Territories
• working toward the establishment and realization of Indigenous peoples rights

Within a short period of time COPE accomplished many things. It organized the first conference of Arctic Native People in Coppermine (now known as Kugluktuk), helped start the Northern Games, produced weekly shows in Aboriginal languages, helped preserve the history and heritage of Aboriginal people by interviewing and taping elders, supported Aboriginal business ventures, and lobbied for adequate housing for low-income families.

First and foremost COPE became the voice of Indigenous people seeking their rights and entitlement to the land they had occupied for millennia.