Sanikiluaq ( ) is a municipality and

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 located on the north coast of Flaherty Island in

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 ...

, on the Belcher Islands. Despite being geographically much closer to the shores of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

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, ...

, the community and the Belcher Islands lie within the

Qikiqtaaluk Region The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ ) or the Baffin Region is the easternmost, northernmost, and southernmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut nam ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada.

History

The community was developed in the early 1970s to replace "South Camp", located further south in the island group. To the north of the town is Kinngaaluk Territorial Park, a space designed for camping, cultural expression, and seasonal hunting. The park contains archaeological remains deposited by the

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and

Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...

cultures. The park was formally designated as such by the Nunavut legislature in 2019. The master plan for the park, drawn up by NVision Insight Group, won an award from the

Canadian Society of Landscape Architects The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (; CSLA-AAPC) is the national organization representing 1600 List of landscape architects, landscape architects in Canada's ten provinces and three territories. The organization was founded in 1934. Its m ...

in 2019.

Demographics

In 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 ...

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 ...

, Sanikiluaq had a population of 1,010 living in 228 of its 252 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 882. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economic development

Sanikiluaq had an eider down factory for 20 years. It closed down in 2005 due to government funding running out and the population of eider ducks decreasing at a rapid rate. The factory reopened in June 2015.

Transportation

It is the southernmost community in the territory, and is served by the Sanikiluaq Airport. Air service is provided by Air Inuit,

Calm Air Calm Air International LP. is a full service airline, offering passenger, charter and freight services in northern Manitoba and the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. It is owned by Exchange Income Corporation with its main base in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ...

and Panorama Aviation.

Education

There are two schools in the community, Nuiyak School, with 11 teaching staff, teaches grades K-6, with 125 students enrolled. Paatsaali School has 177 students and teaches grades 7-12. In 2007, former principal Lisi Kavik was named one of Canada's Outstanding Principals.

Broadband communications

The community has been served by the

Qiniq Qiniq may refer to: * Qiniq (tribe), a historical Oghuz Turkic tribe * Qiniq (company), a Canadian communications company {{DAB ...

network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by SSi Canada. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.

Government

The community is in the

electoral district and Daniel Qavvik is the

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. He replaced long time incumbent, Allan Rumbolt, in the 2021 Nunavut general election. Belcherislands

In the territorial election held October 25, 2021, the candidates were Mick Appaqaq, Ronald Ladd, and Daniel Qavvik. Allan Rumbolt who had represented the riding since the

2008 Nunavut general election 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

did not run. Qavvik won with 227 votes (70.1%) over Appaqaq with 86 (26.5%) and Ladd with 8 (2.5%). The local municipality has a Hamlet Council of eight elected councillors and a mayor. At the last hamlet election, held October 28, 2019, Johnnie Cookie was re-elected mayor with 191 (67.5%) over Jonasie Emikotailuk with 21 (7.4%), votes, and Elijassie Kavik with 69 (24.4%) votes.

Revival of basket making

Lyme grass basket made in Sanikiluaq in 2009

In 1996, Nunavut Arctic College began a project in Sanikiluaq, to revive the art of sewing baskets, ''qisiq'', from ''ivigag'' or lyme grass ('' Leymus mollis''), which is common along the shorelines of

. Traditional grass baskets made by the Sanikiluaqmiut, residents of Sanikiluaq, are finely crafted, and are unique: they have lids and handles often carved from soapstone, and it "can take weeks to make just one grapefruit-sized basket".Cowan, C., 2004. Recovering the Traditional Art of Sanikiluaq Basket-Making: A Case Study of the Development of a Community-based College Curriculum, with Inuit Women of the Belcher Islands. In ''Proceedings of the Conference of Indigenous Knowledges''. The baskets are of great significance to the community, because of the complexity of the sewing and coiling techniques used, but there were no remaining experienced basket-makers practising the art. Therefore, community members came together to revive the art of traditional Sanikiluaq basketry, consulting Elders for their advice and knowledge, as well as using photographs and descriptions from the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

(then the Museum of Civilization) in

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 ...

, and relying on their collective cultural memory and extant skills.

Film

Written and directed by Joel Heath, with support from the community of Sanikiluaq, '' People of a Feather'' is a documentary film about the relationship between climate change, hydroelectric dams, eider ducks and the people of the Belcher Islands."Documentary about ducks in Hudson Bay investigates our role in the cycle of life". '' Prince George Citizen'', March 2, 2012.