Nancy Karetak-Lindell

Nancy Uqquujuq Karetak-Lindell, CM, Inuit leader, senator, politician (born 10 December 1957 in Eskimo Point, NT [now Arviat, NU]). Nancy Karetak-Lindell is an Inuit senator from Nunavut and was the Member of Parliament for Nunavut from 1997 to 2008. She has also served as the president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada. A financial comptroller by trade, Karetak-Lindell had a long career working for Inuit organizations and held a number of government positions prior to becoming a senator (see Senate of Canada). Karetak-Lindell is recognized as the first female parliamentarian to represent the Eastern Arctic, as well as the first person to represent the new riding of Nunavut when it was established. She was also a key figure in the negotiations to create Nunavut in the 1990s.

Early Life & Education

Nancy Karetak-Lindell was born in the primarily Inuit community of Eskimo Point, located on the shores of Hudson Bay in what was then part of the Northwest Territories. The community has since changed its name to Arviat. In 1999, it became part of the new territory of Nunavut. She grew up in a close-knit family, one of 10 children. She is the daughter of Johnny Karetak and Rhoda Akpaleapik Curley. Both her father and grandfather worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as guides. Her mother instilled in her children a strong work ethic and a commitment to community life, having been particularly active in her community and with the local church. The family’s commitment to their community was illustrated by their house functioning as a temporary shelter for people in the community who had nowhere else to go.

Karetak-Lindell has said that she felt she didn’t have an opportunity to grow up with her many siblings, as they were all sent to residential school. She attended school in her community up to Grade 8. She was then required to attend residential school in Yellowknife for high school. Karetak-Lindell has argued this placed an unnecessary hardship on her and her family, preventing her, her siblings and her parents from living together in her youth. She had to leave her home from September through June, only allowed to return for July and August. This displacement from home and her family contributed to the loss of her Inuit culture. While the children learned to speak English at school, her parents mostly spoke Inuktitut. In addition, her parents were not encouraged to share traditional Inuit knowledge with their children (see also Inuit Traditional Stories). However, given the 20-year age difference between Karetak-Lindell’s oldest and youngest siblings, she said that by the time it came for her youngest sister to be educated, attitudes had changed. As such, her parents shared their Inuit knowledge and culture with her youngest sister, who was encouraged to embrace her Inuit identity.

She has described her upbringing as one of comparative isolation, having never met people from outside her community before the age of 12. She also describes rarely having ventured outside of her community before her teens. She described her primary source of contact with the outside world in her youth as Life — a weekly photojournalism magazine that was popular in the middle decades of the 20th century. Her family had a radio, but no television or phone. It was common for the people of her community to trade fox furs for their provisions at the local Hudson’s Bay Company store, rather than use Canadian currency.

Though Karetak-Lindell did not like being away from her family, she enjoyed school and the pursuit of knowledge. Feeling as though she wasn’t being adequately challenged at residential school, she decided to join her uncle who was living in Ottawa, and complete her high school education there. She described the transition as a big adjustment, akin to going to another country. She recalled feeling that she had more in common with the children of foreign diplomats than she had with other Canadians.

Karetak-Lindell briefly attended Trent University after high school. However, she discontinued her studies because she felt burnt-out after spending more than seven years away from home.

She was married to Jon K. Lindell from 1979 until his death in 1998. She has four children, as well as 12 grandchildren.

Career

Upon returning home, Nancy Karetak-Lindell found work in a variety of managerial positions. She worked in these roles for 15 years, including stints with the Arviat Housing Association and Eskimo Point Lumber Supply. In 1997, she was first elected to represent Nunavut in the House of Commons, becoming the first Inuit woman to represent the Eastern Arctic. When the territory of Nunavut was established in 1999, she became the first person to represent it in Parliament. She was re-elected three times, serving her constituents for 11 years. During this time, she held a variety of positions and portfolios, including serving as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources (see Department of Natural Resources). She also served as a member of numerous committees throughout her time in Parliament. In addition, Karetak-Lindell served as the chair and vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Natural Resources.

She was also a key figure in the negotiations that led to the creation of Nunavut in the 1990s.

After 11 years in Parliament, Karetak-Lindell decided to quit politics to spend more time with her growing family, as well as her elderly parents. From 2009 to 2012, she was director of the Jane Glassco Arctic Fellowship Program. She also chaired the Indigenous Knowledge Program for the International Polar Year 2012 Conference, the Nunavut Development Centre and the Nunavut Business Development Centre before being appointed as president of the Canadian wing of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, in 2016.

Karetak-Lindell was appointed to the Senate of Canada on 19 December 2024. During the ceremony, she wore traditional Inuit garments and jewelry crafted by her mother and two of her children. She also carried her mother’s Bible (written in Inuktitut syllabics), and took the oath in Inuktitut and English, the two languages in which she is fluent.