Zebedee Nungak

Zebedee Nungak CQ (Inuktitut: ᔭᐃᐱᑎ ᓄᓐᖓᖅ; Jaipiti Nunngaq; born 23 April 1951)^[1][2] is a Canadian Inuit author, actor, essayist, journalist, and politician. As a child, Nungak was taken from his home in the community of Saputiligait, along with two other children, for the purposes of an experiment by the Canadian government to "[expunge] them of Inuit culture and groom them to become northern leaders with a southern way of thinking." Nungak later became pivotal in securing successful land rights claims and the creation of his home territory of Nunavik.

In his early career, Nungak worked as a translator and interpreter for the Canadian government. He then became one of the founding members of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association, and a signatory to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. During the aboriginal rights constitutional conferences, Nungak was the co-chair of the Inuit Committee on National Issues. He later served as vice president, and eventually president, of the Makivik Corporation, where he actively worked to ensure the recognition of Inuit rights. In 2017, in recognition to his services to the Inuit of Northern Quebec, he was awarded the National Order of Quebec by Premier of Quebec Philippe Couillard.