Canada transfers Igloo Tag trademark to Inuit Art Foundation

Members of an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska are called Inuits.

Federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett has  announced  the transfer of Igloo Tag trademark rights to the Inuit Art Foundation (IAF) in deciding about its standardization and how it could benefit Inuit artists in preserving cultural heritage for future generations, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada said.

“ITK fully supports the Inuit Art Foundation taking administrative control of the Igloo Tag from the Government of Canada. ITK believes the IAF will engage with Inuit organizations, communities, and artists to ensure this important program enhances and protects Inuit artists,” Natan Obed, National Inuit Leader and President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

Mathew Nuqingaq, President, Inuit Art Foundation, said: “On behalf of the Inuit Art Foundation, I am pleased that we are taking on the Igloo Tag as part of our programming that supports Inuit artists across the country. I am excited to build on its long legacy and see how it can continue to grow and support artists into the future.” 

IAF created originally in 1958, with its national mandate, was ready to protect, promote and support the contributions made by Inuit artists in Canada and around the world.

“Our government recognizes that protecting, revitalizing, and promoting Inuit language, culture, and identity can dramatically improve socio-economic outcomes, leading to stronger, more confident generations. Actions like transferring the rights of the Igloo Tag trademark to the Inuit Art Foundation are small, but powerful steps on the journey of decolonization. The Igloo Tag supports Inuit artists and culture and we are pleased that it will now be managed by an Inuit-led organization,” said Minister Bennett.

On June 3, 1987, IAF was incorporated as a non-profit organization and through its copyright services since 1998 was able to control how their work was reproduced.

The Government of Canada also released a report, on the impact of the Inuit arts economy -- prepared for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada by Big River Analytics -- to inform policy development to better support Inuit arts and artists in Canada.

$87.2 million to Canadian GDP (visual arts and crafts, performing arts, film, media, writing and publishing) was contributed in 2015 by the Inuit arts economy which resulted in creation of over 2,700 full time equivalent jobs in Canada, with the vast majority held by individuals across Inuit Nunangat.

26 percent (13,650) of the Inuit population aged 15 years and older were employed to produce visual arts and crafts demonstrating Canada’s continuing commitment to support arts and Indigenous culture and government’s ongoing efforts towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)