Peter Irniq

Piita Taqtu Irniq, formerly Peter Irniq and Peter Ernerk, (born February 1, 1947) is an Inuk politician in Canada, who served as the second commissioner of Nunavut from April 2000 to April 2005. He is an Inuit cultural teacher and has lived most of his life in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, including Naujaat, Coral Harbour, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet, and Iqaluit. He has also lived in the Western Arctic (Northwest Territories), Manitoba and Ontario.

Biography

Irniq was born in Lyon Inlet near Repulse Bay, Northwest Territories (now Naujaat, Nunavut). In 1958, he was forced to attend Indian Residential School in Chesterfield Inlet. Later on, he attended the Sir John Franklin School in Yellowknife from 1963 to 1964.

Irniq was assistant director, Nunavut, Heritage/Culture, Department of Education, Culture and Employment for the Government of N.W.T. where he was responsible for developing culture and heritage programs and services to meet the needs of the new territory of Nunavut, 1997–98. He became deputy minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, 1998–99. His mandate was to be the guardian of traditional Inuit culture and language.

In August 1999, Irniq was seconded to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut to set up the offices of the Official Languages, Access to Information and Conflict of Interest Commissioners. In 2005, he was appointed to the board of directors of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Most recently, he served as a key consultant on the National Film Board of Canada project Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories.

He won an Indspire Award for Culture, Heritage, and Spirituality in 2015.

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