Cournoyea acclaimed to 7th term as Inuvialuit head

Nellie Cournoyea will represent the Inuvialuit of the western Arctic for two more years, after being acclaimed to her seventh term as chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corp.

Cournoyea, a former premier of the Northwest Territories, learned about her new two-year term after nominations closed Wednesday. It marked her first acclamation in her mandate, which began when she was first elected chair in 1996.

Cournoyea was N.W.T. premier from 1991 to 1995. She helped negotiate the landmark 1984 Inuvialuit land-claim agreement with the federal government.

Her current role as chair is to administer the benefits that Inuvialuit receive under that agreement.