International Inuit Day
Next: November 7, 2026
Celebrating the people of the Arctic.
The story
Where it comes from
International Inuit Day falls on 7 November, the birthday of Eben Hopson Sr., the Iñupiaq leader from Alaska who in 1977 invited Inuit leaders from Alaska, Canada and Greenland to work together, founding what is now the Inuit Circumpolar Council. At its 2006 General Assembly in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the Council resolved to proclaim the day every year and urged Inuit governments, agencies and communities to mark it with ceremonies and celebrations.
How it's celebrated
The Inuit Circumpolar Council and Inuit organisations across the Arctic issue messages and hold events, and communities celebrate their identity through language, family and art. For everyone else it is a chance to learn a few words of Inuktut, listen to Inuit music or read an Inuit author, and to remember that the Arctic is home to people as well as ice.
Did you know
- 'Inuit' means 'the people' (one person is an Inuk), and the English word 'kayak' comes from the Inuit qajaq, a hunting boat of skin stretched over driftwood or bone.
- In katajjaq, Inuit throat singing, two women face each other and trade sounds until one runs out of breath or bursts out laughing; Quebec made it the first element of its intangible heritage in 2014.
- The Inuit homeland reaches into Asia: Inuit of Chukotka, on the Russian side of the Bering Strait, joined the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1992.
Coming up next
- Deepavali · November 8, 2026
- World Radiography Day · November 8, 2026
- Hedy Lamarr's Birthday · November 9, 2026
- World Science Day for Peace and Development · November 10, 2026
- Singles' Day · November 11, 2026
- Origami Day · November 11, 2026