Igloolik

Igloolik (Syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗᓕᒃ, sometimes spelled Iglulik), is an Inuit hamlet, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because it is on the small island, one of Canada's national historic sites,^[5][6] of the same name, in Foxe Basin that is very close to the Melville Peninsula (and to a lesser degree, Baffin Island), it is often thought to be on the peninsula. The name "Igloolik" means "there is a house here" (from iglu meaning house or building, and referring to the sod houses - not snow igloos - that were originally in the area)^[7] in Inuktitut^[8] and the residents are called Iglulingmiut (~miut - "people of"). The mayor of Igloolik is Lucassie Ivalu.

History

Information about the area’s earliest inhabitants comes mainly from numerous archeological sites on the island; some dating back more than 4,000 years. First contact with Europeans came when British Navy ships HMS Fury and HMS Hecla, under the command of Captain William Edward Parry, wintered in Igloolik in 1822.

The island was visited in 1867 and 1868 by the American explorer Charles Francis Hall in his search for survivors of the lost Franklin Expedition. In 1913, Alfred Tremblay, a French-Canadian prospector with Captain Joseph Bernier’s expedition to Pond Inlet, extended his mineral exploration overland to Igloolik, and in 1921 a member of Knud Rasmussen's Fifth Thule Expedition visited the island.

The first permanent presence by southerners in Igloolik came with the establishment of a Roman Catholic Mission in the 1930s. By the end of the decade, the Hudson's Bay Company had also set up a post on the island.

Non-indigenous establishments, such as RCMP stations, day schools, and clinics, were here before they came to be in surrounding communities. The Igloolik Research Centre focuses on documenting Inuit traditional knowledge and technology, as well as climatology and seismic data research.^[9]

Culture

Anthropologically, Iglulik Inuit are usually considered to be the Iglulingmiut, the Aivilingmiut,^[10] and the Tununirmiut, those Inuit Inupiaq-speakers on northern Baffin Island, on Southampton Island, and in the Melville Peninsula.^[11]

An ancient legend from the Igloolik area was adapted by Zacharias Kunuk into the award-winning Canadian film Atanarjuat in 2001. In 2004, Isuma produced the film The Journals of Knud Rasmussen which was released in September 2006 after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Igloolik is also the home-base of the only Inuit circus, Artcirq. This collective is active in video-making, music production and live circus show performances. Early in 2008, when temperatures in Igloolik were at −50 °C (−58 °F), eight members of Artcirq went to Essakane north of Timbuktu, Mali, where temperatures were 40 °C (104 °F), to perform at the Festival au Désert.^[12][13] In February 2010, six members of Artcirq represented Nunavut in performances at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[14]

In late 2007, the Igloolik HTO (Hunter and Trappers Organization) banned all forms of tourism (sport hunting, filming, photography, watching) related to the northern Foxe Basin walrus population for a period of two years. This ban was in response to an observed decrease in walrus. The Igloolik Inuit continue to harvest walrus while the tourism ban is in place.

Demographics

As of the 2006 census, the population was 1,538, an increase of 19.6% from the 2001 census.^[3]

The growth of the Iglulingmiut Population:

• 146 (1822)
• 485 (1963)
• 680 (1967)
• 867 (1972)
• 1,174 (1996)
• 1,286 (2001)
• 1,538 (2006)
• 1,720 (2009) estimate based on 3.8% growth-rate statistic. Non-inuit population ~ 84

Climate

Igloolik has a polar climate with 9 months averaging below zero degrees Celsius and extremely cold winters.

Environmental concerns

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interviewed people from the region in April 2008, about their concerns over plans to ship iron ore from the nearby Steensby Inlet on Baffin Island from the Baffinland Iron Mine.^[16] Jaypetee Palluq, an Igloolik resident who had been asked to serve on a Baffinland advisory committee, was concerned that the mine's operation would interfere with the traditional hunts for sea mammals, like Walrus.

He called on Baffinland to "find an alternate shipping route to the mine, regardless of the cost." Paul Quassa, Mayor of Igloolik, also expressed concern, over the effect of freighters on the ice used by the Walrus. He said the region was known for its highly prized aged, fermented walrus meat, a valuable export from the region.

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links