The Government of Canada has provided $6.4M to fund the creation of an Inuit Research Network through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) stated that the network would help Inuit define research priorities and support self-determination in the face of the unique issues and challenges they face in health research. ITK President Natan Obed told CBC that conducting research through an Inuit-specific lens will lead to a better understanding of and solutions to Inuit health concerns. “I think this funding will help in a number of ways that perhaps we can’t even imagine at this very moment,” said Obed. “Inuit are not looking for a completely separate approach to research, we are working with institutions, we are providing an Inuit-specific lens to the work we do.” The funding will be distributed to the four Inuit regions and their land claims organizations, which will receive the funding through ITK. The Network builds on ITK’s National Inuit Strategy on Research.
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