150+ Canadians Day 41: Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Image Credit: Wikipedia user TheSilentPhotographer

Sheila Watt-Cloutier contributed to peace as an advocate for the environmental and human rights of Inuit around the globe.#Canada150

Sheila Watt-Cloutier is an environmental and human rights activist and author. She speaks with passion and urgency on the environment, the economy, foreign policy, global health, and sustainability—not as separate concerns, but as a deeply interconnected whole.

In 2007, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy work in showing the impact global climate change has on human rights. She is a recipient of the Aboriginal Achievement Award, the UN Champion of the Earth Award, and the Norwegian Sophie Prize. She is also an Officer of the Order of Canada.

She has been a political representative for Inuit at the regional, national and international levels including as International Chair for Inuit Circumpolar Council. She wrote The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet, published in 2015 about the effects of global warming on Inuit communities. The book was nominated for the 2016 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction and the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

“For the first time in history, my community has had to use air conditioners. Imagine that, air conditioners in the Arctic.”

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