Inuit leader wears sealskin proudly as protesters call for ban

An Inuit leader donned a sealskin outfit on Canada Day to celebrate her culture and defy protesters who gathered in Brussels to call for a ban on seal products in the European Union.

"I am very proud of my culture as an Inuk, and as a Canadian," said Mary Simon, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, who spent the day in Kuujjuaq, Que.

She called for Canadians who support them to wear seal clothing in a show of solidarity to Inuit and other sealers on Canada Day.

"I think it would send a powerful message to Canada and to the international community that we are still very much living our own culture, and we have our own identity, and our own way of life," Simon told CBC News on Monday.

Last month, Simon wore a sealskin vest in the House of Commons during the prime minister's formal apology to residential school students to show the importance of sealing in the Arctic.

Critics of the seal hunt, including celebrities Brigitte Bardot and Paul McCartney, have used graphic video of seal pups being killed on the ice to win public support over the years.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the European Union's headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday to demand a ban by all 27 member countries on seal products imported from Canada and other nations.

But Simon said the Inuit economy, which was decimated by a European ban on seal products in the 1980s, still depends on sealing.

"Inuit have struggled to rebuild markets," she pointed out. "It angers me that animal-rights protesters, ignorant of and callous towards Inuit culture are trying to take that away in 2008."