There
are approximately 4,800 Inuit who live in and claim aboriginal
rights and title to territory in northern Labrador and
northeastern Quebec.
The
Labrador Inuit are represented by the Labrador Inuit Association
(LIA). LIA has offices in each of the Inuit communities
on the north coast of Labrador, Happy Valley-Goose Bay
and St. John's. The head office is in Nain.
Amongst
LIA's objectives is the protection and promotion of the
language, culture, aboriginal and constitutional rights
of Labrador Inuit and the negotiation and settlement of
Labrador Inuit land claims.
LIA
was formed in 1973 and incorporated under Newfoundland
law in 1975 and is a non-profit organization which is
not affiliated with any political party. LIA is a constituent
affiliate of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC), the
national Inuit organization.
The
Labrador Inuit are the only Inuit in Canada who do not
have a Final land Claims Agreement. There are no treaties
or land claim agreements with any Aboriginal people in
Labrador.
Geographically,
the portion of the Labrador Inuit land claim area within
the Province of Newfoundland extends from Cape Chidley
in the North to Fish Cove Point (on the south side of
Groswater Bay) in the South, seaward to the limit of Canada's
territorial sea and westward to the Labrador/Quebec border.
