RRU honours Inuit activist
Goldstream News Gazette, Wednesday, November 13.
While most people hear the term “global warming” on a daily basis, people in the Arctic witness its wrath daily.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit activist was recently recognized by Royal Roads University with an honorary doctorate of laws.
Being a voice for the Inuit and standing up against global warming has been Watt-Cloutier direction for more than 10 years. She has served as the Canadian president and international chair on the Inuit Circumpolar Council.
While working on the ICC, Watt-Cloutier represented all Inuit from Canada, U.S., Greenland and Russia.
“With only 155,000 we are so small in numbers and people hardly knew who we were,” Watt-Cloutier said.
Watt-Cloutier also helped launch the first international legal action for climate change. With her help a global treaty was created banning pollutants that contaminate the Arctic food chain.
In 2007, Watt-Cloutier was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
“Canada as a country never knew who I was until the Nobel Prize nomination,” Watt-Cloutier said. “I was working internationally and speaking in so many countries at the time.”
Growing up in the Arctic and visibly seeing the changes in her community left Watt-Cloutier wanting to do something.
“In one lifetime we’ve come from ice age to space age,” Watt-Cloutier said. “When I was born we were still travelling by dog team.”
Over the years Watt-Cloutier has seen the damage melting permafrost can cause.
“Homes and buildings are buckling,” she said. “The Greenland icesheet is melting and other places are sinking. People need to understand the global significance is huge.”
Traditional Arctic hunters can no longer cross the once shallow streams, that have turned into rivers and the number of drownings have risen.
In hopes of more people helping the fight against global warming, Watt-Cloutier said, “I don’t have a recipe. All I can say is get the know the issue and the answer will come to you.”
(Photo caption: Royal Roads University bestowed Sheila Watt-Cloutier seen here speaking to RRU students, with an honorary degree last week, an activist from the Canadian Artic nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Charla Huber/News staff)
