Hopedale, Newfoundland and Labrador

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Hopedale is a town located in the North of Labrador, the mainland portion of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Hopedale is the legislative capital of the Inuit Land Claims Area Nunatsiavut, and where the Nunatsiavut Assembly meets. It has a population of roughly 625.

[edit] History

Hopedale was founded as an Inuit settlement named Agvituk, Inuktitut for "Place of the Whales." In 1782, Moravian missonaries from Germany arrived in the area to convert the population. They renamed the settlement Hopedale shortly afterward. The Hopedale Mission is still standing and is thought to be the oldest wooden-frame building in Canada standing east of Quebec. As such, it was named a National Historic Site. It is currently run by the Agvituk Historical Society as a part of a museum on the history of missionaries in the area.

[edit] Demographics

The majority of people in Hopedale (79%) speak English as a first language, but a significant minority (21%) speak Inuktitut.

About 93% of the population identify themselves as Inuit, 5% are mainly of European stock, and 2% are of Punjabi origin. Many of the Inuit in the town are actually mixed Inuit and settler.

About 86% of the population belongs to a Protestant denomination, about 2% are Roman Catholic, and another 2% are Sikh. About 10% are not affiliated with any religion.