You have managed to turn a lands-claim agreement into a territory. You have redrawn the map of Canada through negotiation. You have elected a government to manage your affairs. You have taken control of your destiny. The peaceful establishment of Nunavut provides a model of co-operation to the rest of Canada, and to the world.
Aboriginal culture pays great respect to elders.
But may I add that in a sense, all aboriginal people are elders to the rest of us. You were here first. You first gained the wisdom of this land. You know that the land shapes us more than we shape it. Here we must co-operate to survive.