HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...
of Quebec and part of the wider Inuit Nunangat. Almost all of the 14,045 inhabitants ( 2021 census) of the region, of whom 90% are Inuit, live in fourteen northern villages on the coast of Nunavik and in the
Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...
reserved land (TC) of Whapmagoostui, near the northern village of Kuujjuarapik. means "great land" in the local dialect of Inuktitut and the Inuit inhabitants of the region call themselves . Until 1912, the region was part of the District of Ungava of the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
. Negotiations for regional autonomy and resolution of outstanding land claims took place in the 2000s. The seat of government would be Kuujjuaq. Negotiations on better empowering Inuit political rights in their land are still ongoing. A flag for Nunavik was proposed by Nunavik artist and graphic designer Thomassie Mangiok during an April 2013 Plan Nunavik consultation in Ivujivik.


History

Concern about Canada's claims to sovereignty in the high Arctic resulted in the high Arctic relocation when the federal government of Canada forced several Inuit families to leave Nunavik in the 1950s. They were transported much further north, to barren hamlets at Grise Fiord and Resolute in what is now
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
in an effort to demonstrate Canada's legal occupation of these territories and thereby assert sovereignty in the High
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
by increasing its population during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
. Eight Inuit families from Inukjuak (on the Ungava Peninsula) were relocated after being promised homes and game to hunt, but the relocated people discovered no buildings and very little familiar wildlife. They were told that they would be returned home to Nunavik after a year if they wished, but this offer was later withdrawn as it would damage Canada's claims to sovereignty in the High Arctic area and the Inuit were forced to stay. Eventually, the Inuit learned the local
beluga whale The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the ...
migration routes and were able to survive in the area, hunting over a range of each year. In 1993, the Canadian government held hearings to investigate the relocation program. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report the following year entitled ''The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953–55 Relocation''. The government paid $10 million CAD to the survivors and their families, and finally apologized in 2010. The whole story is told in
Melanie McGrath Melanie McGrath is a Romford-born English non-fiction writer and crime novelist. Early life Born in Romford, McGrath's parents moved several times during her childhood; to Basildon in Essex, then to a village in Germany, to Kent, then north to La ...
's ''The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic''. Nunavik and other parts of northern Quebec were part of
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
from 1870 to 1912. In 1912 the area was transferred to Quebec, however the province did little in the area until after the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s. In the 1960s,
René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attemp ...
played a major role in expansion of hydroelectric power in the province. The region was named "Nouvelle Quebec", many place names were francized, and the teaching of French was spread in schools in the region. This cultural encroachment paired with the James Bay Project resulted in the first political organizing of Inuit in Canada in the Northern Quebec Inuit Association which fought for the eventual James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. This agreement laid the initial legal groundwork for the creation of Nunavik within Quebec.


Geography

Nunavik is a vast territory, larger than the U.S. state of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, located in the northernmost part of Quebec. It lies in both the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
and
subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Genera ...
climate zones. All together, about 12,000 people live in Nunavik's communities, and this number has been growing in line with the tendency for high population growth in indigenous communities. Nunavik is separated from the territory of
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
by Hudson Bay to the west and
Hudson Strait Hudson Strait (french: Détroit d'Hudson) links the Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador and ...
and
Ungava Bay Ungava Bay (french: baie d'Ungava, ; iu, ᐅᖓᕙ ᑲᖏᖅᓗᒃ/) is a bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik (far northern Quebec) from Baffin Island. Although not geographically apparent, it is considered to be a marginal sea of th ...
to the north. Nunavik shares a border with the
Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past T ...
region of Quebec and the
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
region of the province of
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. The
Ungava Peninsula The Ungava Peninsula of Nunavik, Quebec, Canada, is bounded by Hudson Bay to the west, Hudson Strait to the north, and Ungava Bay to the east. This peninsula is part of the Labrador Peninsula, and covers about . Its northernmost point is C ...
forms the northern two-thirds of the region. There are no road links between Nunavik and southern Quebec, although the
Trans-Taiga Road The Trans-Taiga Road (french: Route Transtaïga) is an extremely remote wilderness road in northern Quebec, Canada. It is long to Centrale Brisay and another along the Caniapiscau Reservoir, all of it unpaved. Description The road's northeas ...
of the
Jamésie Jamésie is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Nord-du-Québec, Canada. Its geographical code is 991 and together with Kativik TE and Eeyou Istchee TE it forms the administrative région and census division (CD) ...
region ends near the 55th parallel on the
Caniapiscau Reservoir The Caniapiscau Reservoir () is a reservoir on the upper Caniapiscau River in the Côte-Nord administrative region of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the largest body of water in Quebec and the second largest reservoir in Canada. Th ...
, several hundred kilometres south of Kuujjuaq. There is a year-round air link to all villages and seasonal shipping in the summer and autumn. Parts of the interior of southern Nunavik can be reached using several trails which head north from
Schefferville Schefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Naskapi and Innu territory in northern Quebec, less than 2 km (1¼ miles) from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake. It i ...
. Nunavik has fourteen villages, the vast majority of whose residents are Inuit. The principal village and administrative centre in Nunavik is Kuujjuaq, on the southern shore of Ungava Bay; the other villages are
Inukjuak Inukjuak ( iu, ᐃᓄᒃᔪᐊᒃ, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in Nunavik, in the region of northern Queb ...
(where the film '' Nanook of the North'' was shot),
Salluit Salluit ( iu, ᓴᓪᓗᐃᑦ, "the thin ones") is the second northernmost Inuit community in Quebec, Canada, located on Sugluk Inlet close to the Hudson Strait and was formerly known as Sugluk. Its population was 1,483 in the Canada 2016 Census ...
,
Puvirnituq Puvirnituq ( iu, ᐳᕕᕐᓂᑐᖅ) is a northern village ( Inuit community) in Nunavik, on the Povungnituk River near its mouth on Hudson Bay in northern Quebec, Canada. Its population was 2,128 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Of all ot ...
, Ivujivik,
Kangiqsujuaq Kangiqsujuaq ( iu, ᑲᖏᕐᓱᔪᐊᖅ) is a northern village (Inuit community) in Nunavik, Nord-du-Québec, Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 837 in the Canada 2021 Census. The community has also been known as Wakeham Bay. The name "Ka ...
,
Kangiqsualujjuaq Kangiqsualujjuaq (; ) is an Inuit village located at the mouth of the George River on the east coast of Ungava Bay in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. Its population was 956 as of the 2021 census. Names The settlement's original name, Fort Sev ...
,
Kangirsuk Kangirsuk (in Inuktitut: ᑲᖏᕐᓱᖅ/''Kangirsuq'', meaning "the bay") is an Inuit village in northern Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. It is north of Kuujjuaq, between Aupaluk and Quaqtaq. The community is only accessible by air ( Kangirsuk Airport ...
,
Tasiujaq Tasiujaq ( iu, ᑕᓯᐅᔭᖅ, meaning: ''Which resembles a lake'') is a northern village (Inuit community) in Nunavik, in northern Quebec, Canada. Its population in the Canada 2021 Census was 420. Geography Tasiujaq was built on the shore ...
,
Aupaluk Aupaluk ( iu, ᐊᐅᐸᓗᒃ) ( 2021 Population: 233) is a northern village in Nunavik, in the Nord-du-Québec region of Quebec. It is the least-populous Inuit community in Nunavik. The name means "where the earth is red", referring to its ir ...
,
Akulivik Akulivik ( iu, ᐊᑯᓕᕕᒃ) ( 2021 population 642) is an Inuit village in Nunavik, in northern Quebec, Canada. It is located on a peninsula that juts southwesterly into Hudson Bay across from Smith Island, Nunavut (Qikirtajuaq). Akulivik lie ...
,
Quaqtaq Quaqtaq ( iu, ᖁᐊᕐᑕᖅ) is a northern village (Inuit community) in Nunavik, northern Quebec, Canada. Its population was 453 in the Canada 2021 Census. The village is one of the northernmost inhabited places in Quebec, located on the eas ...
, Kuujjuarapik and
Umiujaq Umiujaq ( iu, ᐅᒥᐅᔭᖅ) is a northern village (Inuit community) near the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Nunavik in northern Quebec, Canada. The village was established in 1986 by Inuit from Kuujjuarapik, 160 km to the south, who de ...
. The village population (census 2011) ranges from 2,375 (Kuujjuaq) to 195 (Aupaluk). There are five meteorite craters in Nunavik:
Pingualuit crater The Pingualuit Crater (french: Cratère des Pingualuit; from Inuit "pimple"), formerly called the "Chubb Crater" and later the "New Quebec Crater" (french: Cratère du Nouveau-Québec), is a relatively young impact crater located on the Ungava Pe ...
, Couture crater, La Moinerie crater and the two craters that together form the
Clearwater Lakes The Lac Wiyâshâkimî (the official name, in French, formerly Lac à l'Eau Claire, a calque of the lake's name, Wiyâšâkamî, in Northern East Cree, changed form of ''wâšâkamî'' or ''wâšekamî'' in more southerly Cree dialects), also c ...
.


Climate

The climate of Nunavik is dominated by the long and cold winters as the seas to the west, east and north freeze over, eliminating maritime moderation. Since this moderation exists in summer when the surrounding sea thaws, even those temperatures are subdued.
Inukjuak Inukjuak ( iu, ᐃᓄᒃᔪᐊᒃ, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in Nunavik, in the region of northern Queb ...
for example has summer highs averaging just with January highs of . This is exceptionally cold for a sea-level settlement more than 1/3 of the way from the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
to the Equator. Annual temperatures are up to colder than marine areas of Northern Europe on similar parallels. Areas less affected by summertime marine moderation have somewhat warmer temperatures and unlike the west coast, feature marginal
taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, sp ...
due to summers being warmer than in mean temperatures.


Demographics


Villages by population


Ethnicity

In 2019, a scientific study by researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of the
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...
found that the Nunavik Inuit are genetically distinct from any other known population. They possess distinct genetic signatures in pathways linked to lipid metabolism, allowing them to adjust to higher-fat diets and the extreme temperature of the Canadian Arctic. Geographically isolated populations often develop unique genetic traits that result from their successful adaptation to specific environments. Their closest relatives are the
Paleo-Eskimos The Paleo-Eskimo (also pre-Thule or pre-Inuit) were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka (e.g., Chertov Ovrag) in present-day Russia across North America to Greenland prior to the arrival of the modern Inuit (Eskimo) and ...
, a people that inhabited the Arctic before the Inuit.


Language

The following table does not include Canada's official languages of French and English.


Economy

Nunavik is rich in mineral deposits where Raglan Mine, situated near Salluit, is one of the largest mines in the region. It is linked by all-weather roads to an airstrip at
Kattiniq/Donaldson Airport Katinniq/Donaldson Airport is located east of Raglan Mine, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is t ...
and to the concentrate, storage and ship-loading facilities at Deception Bay. Production began at the mine in 1997. The current mine life is estimated at more than 30 years. Because the site is situated in the subarctic permafrost region, it requires special construction and mining techniques to protect the fragile permafrost and to address other environmental issues. The average annual temperature is with an average ambient temperature underground of . There are plans to increase production at a new mine in Raglan South.


Arts and culture

The villages of Nunavik are populated predominately by Inuit. Much like their Nunavummiut neighbours to the North, the Nunavimmiut carve sculptures from soapstone and eat primarily caribou and fish. On clear nights, the aurora is often visible, and outdoors activities are abundant in this region.


Government

Nunavik, along with the Quebec portion of the James Bay region (or Jamésie in French), is part of the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec. The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1978 led to greater political autonomy for most of the Nunavik region with the founding of the Kativik Regional Government. All inhabitants of the 14 northern villages, both Inuit and non-Inuit, vote in regional elections. The Kativik Regional Government is financed by the Government of Quebec (50%), the
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...
(25%), and local revenues (25%).The Agreement also led to the creation of the
Kativik Regional Police Force The Nunavik Police Service (NPS; french: Service de police du Nunavik, iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒻᒥ ᐳᓖᓰᑦ ᐱᒍᑦᔨᔨᖏᑦ) delivers regular policing services in the 14 remote northern villages of the Kativik Region. The headquarters of the N ...
, which has been providing police services in the Kativik region since 1996. The KRPF was renamed as the Nunavik Police Service (NPS) in mid-2021. The Makivik Corporation, headquartered in Kuujjuaq, represents the Inuit of Northern Quebec in their relations with the governments of Quebec and Canada. They are seeking greater political autonomy for the region and have recently negotiated an agreement defining their traditional rights to use the resources of the offshore islands of Nunavik, all of which are part of Nunavut. The Cree village of Whapmagoostui, which forms an enclave on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay near the northern village of Kuujjuarapik, is part of the Cree Regional Authority, which itself has been incorporated into the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee). The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, of the Côte-Nord region to the south of Nunavik, owns an exclusive hunting and trapping area in southern Nunavik and is represented in the Kativik Regional Government.


Regional Government of Nunavik

The governments of Quebec and Canada and Nunavik had negotiated a proposal to establish a Regional Government of Nunavik. This is in part a recognition of the region's political distinctiveness, having a different language, culture, climate and voting pattern from the rest of the province of Quebec, as well as part of the overall trend towards devolution of Canada's arctic territories. While Quebec and Canada would still maintain full jurisdiction over the area, the Nunavik government will have an elected parliamentary-style council and cabinet, and a public service funded by the province and responsible for delivering certain social services such as education and health. The regional government would have also had rights to the region's natural resources, including royalties from the various mines in the region. This proposal was rejected by about 66% of voters in a referendum in 2011. It is expected that negotiations will continue in the future to work to establish a more autonomous government for Nunavik in the future. The government will be based on territory, not ethnicity, so that all people residing in Nunavik can be full participants. Existing government structures, such as the Kativik Regional Government, Kativik School Board, and Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, will be folded into the new regional government. The Quebec government has also expressed a desire to add an additional seat to the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
to represent Nunavik, despite the region's small population. Currently, Nunavik is part of the riding of Ungava, its residents making up just under half of the riding's population. As a riding, Nunavik would be the second least populous in Quebec, slightly more populous than Îles-de-la-Madeleine, which is able to exist as a separate riding under an exception to the laws on population distribution by riding.Chouinard, Tommy
Les Inuits auront leur gouvernement régional.
'' La Presse'', 6 December 2007.


See also

* Taqramiut Nipingat *
Tursujuq National Park Tursujuq National Park is a Provincial Park of Quebec, Canada. Its creation was announced by the Province of Quebec on December 14, 2012, and officially established on July 18, 2013. Located on the east side of Hudson Bay near the Inuit village o ...
* List of proposed provinces and territories of Canada *
Nunatsiavut Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inui ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Chabot, Marcelle (2004). Consumption and Standards of Living of the Québec Inuit: Cultural Permanence and Discontinuities. Canadian review of sociology and anthropology,41 (2): 147–170. * Chabot, M. (2003). Economic Changes, Household Strategies and Social Relations of Contemporary Nunavik Inuit.
Polar Record ''Polar Record'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of Arctic and Antarctic exploration and research. It is managed by the Scott Polar Research Institute and published by Cambridge University Press. The journal w ...
39(208): 19–34. * Dana, Leo Paul 2010, “Nunavik, Arctic Quebec: Where Co-operatives Supplement Entrepreneurship,” Global Business and Economics Review 12 (1/2), January 2010, pp. 42–71. * Greene, Deirdre, D. W. Doidge, and Ray Thompson. ''An Overview of Myticulture with Particular Reference to Its Potential in Nunavik''. Kuujjuaq, Quebec: Kuujjuaq Research Centre, Makivik Corp, 1996. * Hodgins, Stephen. ''Health and what affects it in Nunavik how is the situation changing?'' Kuujjuaq, uebec Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, 1997. * Reeves, Randall R., and Stanislaw Christopher Olpinski. ''Walruses of Nunavik = Les morses du Nunavik''. uujjuaq, Quebec Makivik Corporation, 1995. * Reeves, Randall R., and Stanislaw Christopher Olpinski. ''Belugas (white whales) in Nunavik = Les bélugas (baleines blanches) au Nunavik''. uujjuaq, Quebec Makivik Corporation, 1995.


External links


Kativik Regional Government websiteNunavik Marine Region Planning Commission websiteInteractive map of information on Nunavik communitiesMakivik Corporation
* {{Authority control Inuit territories Proposed provinces and territories of Canada