Nunavut (,
Inuktitut: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ) is the largest and newest federal
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,
though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993. The creation of Nunavut – meaning "our land" in Inuktitut – resulted in the first major change to Canada's map since the incorporation of the new province of
Newfoundland in 1949.
Nunavut comprises a major portion of
Northern Canada, and most of the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago, making it the
fourth-largest country subdivision in the world. The capital
Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay") on
Baffin Island, in the east, was chosen by the
1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of
Rankin Inlet and
Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes
Ellesmere Island to the north, as well as the eastern and southern portions of
Victoria Island in the west and
Akimiski Island in
James Bay to the far south. Nunavut is both the least populated and the geographically largest of the provinces and territories of Canada. It has a population of 29,474,
mostly
Inuit, spread over an area the size of
Western Europe. Nunavut is also home to the
northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world,
Alert.
Geography
thumb|left|Northeast coast of Baffin Island.Nunavut covers of land and of water in Northern Canada including part of the mainland, most of the Arctic Archipelago, and all of the islands in
Hudson Bay,
James Bay, and
Ungava Bay (including the
Belcher Islands) which belonged to the Northwest Territories. This makes it the fifth largest subnational entity (or
administrative division) in the world. If Nunavut were a country, it would rank 15th in area. Nunavut has land borders with the Northwest Territories on several islands as well as the mainland,
Manitoba to the south of the Nunavut mainland,
Saskatchewan to the southwest – thereby forming a
quadripoint at with these three aforementioned regions – and a tiny land border with Newfoundland and Labrador on
Killiniq Island. It also shares maritime borders with the provinces of
Quebec,
Ontario, and Manitoba and with
Greenland.
Nunavut's highest point is
Barbeau Peak ( on Ellesmere Island. The population density is 0.015 persons per square kilometre, one of the lowest in the world. By comparison,
Greenland, to the east, has approximately the same area and nearly twice the population.
History
The region now known as Nunavut has supported a continuous
indigenous population for approximately 4,000 years. Most historians also identify the coast of Baffin Island with the
Helluland described in Norse
sagas, so it is possible that the inhabitants of the region had occasional contact with
Norse sailors.
The written history of Nunavut begins in 1576.
Martin Frobisher, while leading an expedition to find the
Northwest Passage, thought he had discovered gold ore around the body of water now known as
Frobisher Bay on the coast of
Baffin Island. The ore turned out to be worthless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the
Inuit. The contact was hostile, with both sides taking prisoners, who subsequently perished.
Other explorers in search of the elusive Northwest Passage followed in the 17th century, including
Henry Hudson,
William Baffin and
Robert Bylot.
Cornwallis and Ellesmere Islands feature in the history of the
Cold War in the 1950s. Concerned about the area's strategic geopolitical position, the federal government
relocated Inuit from the High Arctic of
northern Quebec to
Resolute and
Grise Fiord. In the unfamiliar and hostile conditions, they faced starvation but were forced to stay. Forty years later, the
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report titled
The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953-55 Relocation. The government paid compensation to those affected and their descendants, but it did not apologize. The story is told in Melanie McGrath's
The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic.
In 1976 as part of the land claims negotiations between the
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (then called the
Inuit Tapirisat of Canada) and the
federal government, the division of the Northwest Territories was discussed. On April 14, 1982, a
plebiscite on division was held throughout the Northwest Territories. A majority of the residents voted in favour and the federal government gave a conditional agreement seven months later. The land claims agreement was decided in September 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut. On July 9, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act
[ and the Nunavut Act][ were passed by the Canadian Parliament. The transition to establish Nunavut Territory was completed on April 1, 1999.]
In September 2008, researchers reported the evaluation of existing and newly excavated archaeological remains, including yarn spun from a hare, rats, tally sticks, a carved wooden face mask depicting Caucasian features, and possible architectural material. The materials were collected in five seasons of excavation at Cape Banfield. Scholars have determined these are evidence of European traders and possibly settlers on Baffin Island not later than 1000 CE. They seem to indicate prolonged contact, possibly up to 1450 CE. The origin of the Old World contact is unclear; the article states: "Dating of some yarn and other artifacts, presumed to be left by Vikings on Baffin Island, have produced an age that predates the Vikings by several hundred years. So [...] you have to consider the possibility that as remote as it may seem, these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland." Demographics
As of the 2006 Census the population of Nunavut was 29,474, Language
Along with Inuktitut; Inuinnaqtun, English, and French are also official languages.
In his 2000 commissioned report (Aajiiqatigiingniq Language of Instruction Research Paper) to the Nunavut Department of Education, Ian Martin of York University states that a "long-term threat to Inuit language from English is found everywhere, and current school language policies and practices on language are contributing to that threat" if Nunavut schools follow the Northwest Territories model. He provides a 20-year language plan to create a "fully functional bilingual society, in Inuktitut and English" by 2020. The plan provides different models, including:
- "Qulliq Model," for most Nunavut communities, with Inuktitut as the main language of instruction.
- "Inuinnaqtun Immersion Model," for language reclamation and immersion to revitalize Inuinnaqtun as a living language.
- "Mixed Population Model," mainly for Iqaluit (possibly for Rankin Inlet), as the 40% Qallunaat, or non-Inuit, population may have different requirements.
thumb|right|Inuk man, Arviat.
Of the 29,025 responses to the census question concerning 'mother tongue', the most commonly reported languages were:
Only English and French were counted as official languages in the census. Nunavut's official languages are shown in bold. Figures shown are for the number of single-language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses. Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents according to the 2001 census were the Anglican Church of Canada with 15,440 (58%); the Roman Catholic Church with 6,205 (23%); and Pentecostal with 1,175 (4%). Economy
Government
thumb|Legislative assembly building in Iqaluit.
Nunavut's Chief Executive is a Commissioner appointed by the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. As in the other territories, the commissioner's role is symbolic and is analogous to that of a Lieutenant-Governor. While the Commissioner is not formally a representative of Canada's head of state, a role roughly analogous to representing The Crown has accrued to the position.
The members of the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Nunavut are elected individually; there are no parties and the legislature is consensus-based. The head of government, the premier of Nunavut, is elected by, and from the members of the legislative assembly. As of November 14, 2008, the premier is Eva Aariak.
Faced by criticism of his policies, former Premier Paul Okalik set up an advisory council of eleven elders, whose function it is to help incorporate "Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit" (Inuit culture and traditional knowledge, often referred to in English as "IQ") into the territory's political and governmental decisions.
Owing to Nunavut's vast size, the stated goal of the territorial government has been to decentralize governance beyond the region's capital. Three regions—Kitikmeot, Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk/Baffin—are the basis for more localized administration, although they lack autonomous governments of their own.
The territory has an annual budget of C$700 million, provided almost entirely by the federal government. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin designated support for Northern Canada as one of his priorities for 2004, with an extra $500 million to be divided among the three territories.
In 2001, the government of New Brunswick collaborated with the federal government and the technology firm SSI Micro to launch Qiniq, a unique network which uses satellite delivery to provide broadband Internet access to 24 communities in Nunavut. As a result, the territory was named one of the world's "Smart 25 Communities" in 2006 by the Intelligent Community Forum, a worldwide organization which honours innovation in broadband technologies. Licence plates
thumb|Muskox on Victoria Island
The Nunavut licence plate, originally created for the Northwest Territories in the 1970s, which is shaped like a polar bear, has long been famous worldwide for its unique design. Nunavut opted to use the same licence plate design in 1999 when it became a separate territory. Notable Nunavummiut
Susan Aglukark is an Inuit singer and song writer. She has released six albums and has won several Juno Awards. She blends the Inuktitut and English languages with contemporary pop music arrangements to tell the stories of her people, the Inuit of Arctic.
On May 3, 2008, the Kronos Quartet premiered a collaborative piece with Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis, entitled "Nunavut", which makes use of an Inuit folk story. Tagaq is also known internationally for her collaborations with Icelandic pop star Björk.
Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (Inuktitut syllabics: ᔪᐊᑕᓐ ᑐᑐ; born February 2, 1983 in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League. His middle name Kudluk (kalluk in standard Roman spelling) means "thunder." Although born in Manitoba, Tootoo grew up in Rankin Inlet, where he was taught to skate and play hockey by his father, Barney. Growing up in Rankin Inlet also allowed Tootoo to learn the traditional Inuit lifestyle that includes hunting and camping. As the first Inuk to play in the National Hockey League he has become a role model for youth in Nunavut. See also
Footnotes
Effective 12 November 2008.
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