The Nihtat Gwich鈥檌n Council (NGC) has issued a public statement in response to what it called "considerable online discussion" about its involvement in an RCMP operation at Inuvik's Nova apartment complex on Aug. 17. 

"The NGC wishes to clarify its role in the RCMP operation, as we understand that videos and photographs shared publicly on social media appear to show an RCMP officer opening the back door of a vehicle owned by the NGC, with commentary suggesting that the NGC or our staff was the target of the RCMP鈥檚 operation and that vehicles belonging to the NGC were searched for drugs," reads the statement, which was posted to the organization's official Facebook page.

"The NGC states that the videos and photographs circulated online have been taken entirely out of context and falsely suggest that the NGC was involved in illegal activities prompting action from the RCMP. In particular, the NGC is aware that misleading and false online photos or videos were posted by individuals appearing to mislead the community by altering the original social media post with respect to the RCMP operation."

The statement goes on to state "definitively" that the NGC was not the target of the police operation or any investigation. 

"Rather, the RCMP contacted the NGC requesting to make use of the NGC鈥檚 vehicles, as large, passenger-carrying vehicles are limited in the community and required to support their ongoing police operations in the community," the Gwich'in organization stated. "The NGC willingly supported the RCMP鈥檚 request to make use of the NGC鈥檚 vehicles in connection with their legitimate law enforcement activities. The NGC played no other role in the RCMP鈥檚 operation. The decision to make vehicles available to the RCMP was made with the view of protecting the safety and well-being of the community as a whole."

The NGC concluded its statement by reminding residents that misinformation can spread quickly in small communities and requesting that anyone who posted false information about the organization's involvement in the RCMP investigation remove their posts. 

It also called for an apology from "the individuals that have chosen to mislead the community."