(A Canadian Territory)
Nunavut
is a massive, sparsely populated Territory of Northern
Canada...forming most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its
islands have expanses of tundra,
craggy mountains and remote villages
with accessibility by plane or boat. It's known for its indigenous
Inuit people's artwork, carvings and hand-made clothing. Indian art
is displayed at the Nunavut Sunakkutaangit Museum in Iqaluit.
Nunavut Arctic College and Akitsiraq Law School offer students
extended education.
This large Territory has one-fifth of the land in Canada.
Nunavut is a mainland & many islands in the Arctic Ocean.
Baffin Island and Ellesmere Islands are 2 large islands.
The Northwest Territories is west of Nunavut.
The capital city compises about 26 settlements is Iqaluit.
MOTTO: Our Strength
BIRD: the Ptarmigan
FLOWER: the Purple Saxifrage
LANGUAGES: English, French and Inuktitut
NUNAVUT means “our land” in the Inuit language.
RELIGION: The largest denominations by the number of adherents
according to the 2001 census are the Anglican Church of Canada, the
Roman Catholic Diocese and Pentecostal. 92% were Christian.
The
People:
Nunavut, the newest, largest, northernmost and least populous
Territory of Canada (home to about 25,000) became Canada's third
Territory on April 1, 1999.
Its capital city Iqualuit is located on the southern tip of Baffin
Island.
The Inuit are the aboriginal people who make up 85% of the
population.
The towns are very small and far away from each other.
Airplanes bring supplies if towns cannot be reached by road.
On Baffin Island the Inuit still hunt and fish for survival.
Winter activities are dog-sledding, snowmobiling andice-fishing.
History:
The first people to live in Nunavut were the Inuit...living in small
hunting and fishing camps.
Fur trading posts were wet up inthe 1700's.
In 1870 the territories belonged to Canada.
Inuit way of life changed...with many native traditions forgotten.
The Canadian government urged the Inuit to settle in communities.
The Inuit requested their own territory.
Land
and Water
are
frozen most of the year...Arctic Ocean.ice floes break off from
glaciers
The land is covered with sheets of ice, water pools and rivers.
Moss, tough grasses and small willow shrubs grow on the tundra.
Soil is frozen...thus fruits and vegetables are flown in.
Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve is Canada's most northern
park.
It is a polar desert with very little snowfall.
Industry:
Tourism...people come to fish, hike, camp, hunt, to observe the
wildlife.
Mining...copper, lead, silver, zinc, iron, gold and diamonds, oil and
gas.
Fishing...whitefish and Arctic char.
Factories...packaging the raw fish and meat.
Sale of Inuit arts and crafts including soapstone sculptures.
Wildlife:
The Inuit believe in taking care of their wildlife which are
many...muskoxen, caribou, polar bears, arctic foxes, whales and seals
In addition to fishing, they eat the meat of muskoxen, caribou,
whales and seals.
Clothing is made from the furs of the muskoxen, polar bears, arctic
foxes and seals.
Media:
The Inuit Broadcasting Company is based in Nunavut. The Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) serves Nunavut through a radio and
television production centre in Iqaluit and a bureau in Rankin Inlet.
The Territory is also served by 2 regional newspapers.
Archaelogical
Findings:
In September, 2008, researchers reported on the evaluation of
existing and newly excavated remains...including yarn spun from hare,
rats, tally sticks, a carved wooden face mask that depicts Canadian
features...and possibly architectural material...providing evidence
of European traders....and possibly settlers on Baffin Island...even
prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland. It is believed the
indigenous peoples of 4,000 years may have had occasional contact
with Norse sailors.
People
and Places:
Michael Kusugak writes about the Inuit way of life.
Susan Aglukark is a singer-songwriter and the first Inuit recording
artist.
The Kronos Quartet premiered a collaborative piece with Inuit
throat-singer Tanya Tagag.
Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (although born in Churchill, Manitoba) grew
up in Rankin Inlet, Nunivut and is a hockey player with the New
Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.
In April, the people of Iqualuit celebrate the coming of Spring.
They have dogteam and snomobile races and contests (fishing, hunting,
igloo-building, harpoon-throwing).
Inuksuit stone towers were used as markers (made by the Inuit long
ago) to show the way to travellers.
Facts
of Interest
Iqaluit,
the capital city located on Baffin Island, was formerly known as
Frobisher Bay.
Nunavut's
highest point is Barbeau Peak (2,616 m...9,583 feet)...on Ellesmere
Island.
A weather station on Ellesmere Island, Eureka,
has the lowest average temperture of any Canadian weather station.
Licence
Plates,
originally created for the Northwest Territories in the 1970's,
the
plate has long been famous for its unique design of a polar bear!
.Nunavut
is also home to to the world's northernmost permanently inhabited
place...ALERT!
Nunavut is Canada's only geo-political region that isn't connected
to the rest of North America by highway!
Facts compiled by Merle Baird-Kerr...September 4, 2016.
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