Puvirnituq () is a northern village (

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

community) in

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, 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 homelan ...

, on the Povungnituk River near its mouth on

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

in northern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. Its population was 2,129 as of the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

. Of all other northern villages in Nunavik (VN), only Puvirnituq has no Inuit reserved land (TI) of the same name associated with it. The name means "putrefied" and is said to have arisen after an epidemic killed off most of the area's residents to the point that there were not enough people to bury the dead, which allowed the exposed bodies to decompose and gave off a putrid smell. Puvirnituq is the aviation hub of the Hudson Bay coast.

Puvirnituq Airport Puvirnituq Airport is located north of Puvirnituq, Quebec, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean ...

handles scheduled flights to and from all other Hudson Bay coastal communities in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. It is not accessible by road. The police services in Puvirnituq are provided by the

Nunavik Police Service The Nunavik Police Service (NPS; , ) delivers regular policing services in the 14 remote northern villages of the Kativik Region. The headquarters of the NPS are in Kuujjuaq, and detachments operate in each community. The service was formerly cal ...

History

In 1921, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(HBC) established a trading post in the village, known as Povungnituk and often shortened to Pov. This attracted the settlement of

living in the region. In 1951, the HBC opened a general store. The closure of HBC stores in other nearby villages led to an influx of Inuit to Puvirnituq. A Catholic mission was founded in 1956, which encouraged the residents to form the Carvers Association of Povungnituk two years later. It later became the Co-operative Association of Povungnituk and was instrumental in assisting, developing, and marketing Inuit art. Its success inspired other Inuit communities to form similar cooperatives, most of which now make up the Federation of Co-operatives of Northern Quebec.

Leah Nuvalinga Qumaluk Leah Nuvalinga (Sala) Qumaluk (April 17, 1934 – 2010) was a Canadian Inuk artist. Born in Inukjuak, Quebec, Qumaluk and her husband, Josie Qumaluk, moved to Puvirnituq in 1954. She began her career as a carver before experimenting with stonebl ...

was among the artists who worked at the cooperative.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Puvirnituq had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Education

The

Kativik School Board The Kativik School Board (KSB; , Kativik Ilisarniliriniq) is a school district with territory in Nunavik in northern Quebec; it has an office in the Saint-Laurent area of Montreal and one in Kuujjuaq. While most Quebec school boards are categor ...

operates three schools in Puvirnituq. Ikaarvik Primary School for K-3, Iguarsivik Primary-Secondary School for grades 4 through Secondary 5, and the Adult Education Centre.

Notable people

Inuk throat singer and activist Shina Novalinga (born 1998), a

social media personality A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

gained fame for posting videos throat singing with her mother on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

and

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. As of August 2022, she has over 4 million TikTok followers and over 2 million Instagram followers. Other people from Puvirnituq include Mary Pudlat (1923–2001), a visual artist.

Gallery

File:Puvirnituq hospital.JPG, Hospital File:Puvirnituq Northern store.JPG, Northern Store File:Puvirnituq-2017-06-17-Vue de la rivière Puvirnituq.jpg, View of Puvirnituq River File:Puvirnituq-2018-04-14-Vue d'une rue du village-IMG 3162.jpg, Street view in winter File:Puvirnituq-Village et la rivière, avec arc-en-ciel-2018-08-05.jpg, The village near the North bank of Puvirnituq River File:Puvirnituq-Cimetière-2018-08-04-IMG 3593.jpg, Cemetery of Puvirnituq

References

External links

Nunavik Tourism, Puvirnituq website

Watch ''My Village in Nunavik'', a documentary about life in the community
{{Authority control Inuit communities in Quebec Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Populated places on Hudson Bay Road-inaccessible communities of Quebec