Inuit Nunangat: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:29, 17 June 2024

Inuit Nunangat ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓄᓇᖓᑦ
Inuit Regions of Canada

State	Canada
Regions	Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nunavut, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut
Province / Territory	YT, NT, NU, QC, NL
Area
• Total	3,304,740 km² (1,275,970 sq mi)
• Land	2,484,591 km² (959,306 sq mi)
• Water	820,149 km² (316,661 sq mi)
Population (2021)^[1]
• Total	58,220
• Density	0.018/km² (0.046/sq mi)
Ethnicity population
• Inuit	48,695
• First Nations	980
• Métis	325
• Other Indigenous	500
• Non-Aboriginal	7,715
Time zone	UTC−08:00 (PST) UTC−07:00 (MST) UTC−06:00 (CST) UTC−05:00 (EST) UTC−04:00 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	Varies
Inuit languages (west to east)	Inuvialuktun Inuinnaqtun Inuktitut Inuit Sign Language (Atgangmuurngniq) Inuttitut
Website	www.itk.ca/about-canadian-inuit/#nunangat

Etymology[edit]

Originally using the Greenlandic term "Nunaat" excluding the waters and ice, Inuit of Canada, through the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, formally switched to the Inuktitut "Nunangat" in 2009 to reflect the integral nature "land, water, and ice" have to Inuit culture.^[3]

History[edit]

Inuit settlement[edit]

Inuit ancestors known as the Thule settled the Arctic, replacing the previous dominant Dorset culture (Tuniit) over the course of around 200 years. The last remnant of Tuniit were Sadlermiut who disappeared in the early 1900s. Displacement of the Tuniit (Inuktitut syllabics; ᑐᓃᑦ), or the Dorset people, and the arrival of the Inuit (whose ancestors are often called Thule) occurred in the 1100–1300s CE. Coming from Siberia where they split from the Aleut and other related peoples about 4,000 years ago, Inuit had reached Inughuit Nunaat^{[clarification needed]} in western Greenland by about 1300 CE, bringing with them transport dogs and various new technologies.

Canadian colonization[edit]

Canadian colonization extended in to Inuit Nunangat via the lands claimed as Rupert's Land, North-Western Territory and Quebec, later including Newfoundland and Labrador. Rapid spread of diseases, material wealth, the Christian churches and Canadian (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) policing^[12] saw a rapid decline and collapse of Inuit Nunangat, from which it is still recovering.

Modern era[edit]

Today, Inuit Nunangat is overseen by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑕᐱᕇᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ, meaning either "Inuit are united with Canada"^[18] or "Inuit are united in Canada"^[19]) which acts as a cultural centre piece and quasi-central government for Inuit affairs within Canada.

While Nunavut's confederation within Canada in 1999 via the Nunavut Act and Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is most visible, each of the regions of Inuit Nunangat. The Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Inuinnaqtun: Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq) came under the jurisdiction of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation two years after the 1984 Inuvialuit Final Agreement, and Nunatsiavut was granted an autonomous government in 2005 after the 2002 Labrador Inuit Association proposal for a separate government. Beginning with a land claim in 1977, negotiations launched in 1988 between the Labrador Inuit Association, the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and that of Canada. In Northern Quebec, the Makivik Corporation was established upon the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement signing in 1978, taking the mantle from the previous Nunavimmiut organization, the "Northern Quebec Inuit Association" (ᑯᐸᐃᒃ ᑕᕐᕋᖓᓂ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑲᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᒌᖏᑦ Kupaik Tarrangani Inuit Katujjiqatigiingit).

The Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee (ICPC) was created in 2017 and last met on April 21, 2022. At this meeting, the Canadian federal government, in partnership with the Inuit Nunangat, unanimously endorsed the federal policy called the Inuit Nunangat Policy (INP).^[20] In a live address shortly after this meeting, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said the policy "recognizes the Inuit homeland as a distinct geographical, cultural and political region," which includes the "land, sea, and ice."^[20]

Demographics[edit]

As of the 2021 Canadian census the population of Inuit Nunangat was 58,220 an increase of 2.9 per cent over the 2016 census population of 56,585. The Indigenous population is 50,500 or 89.24 per cent of the total population, of which 48,695 (83.63 per cent) are Inuit.^[1]^[21]

Population of Inuit Nunangat
Region	Inuit	First Nations	Métis	Other Indigenous	Non-Indigenous	Totals
	2021^[1]	2016^[21]	% change	2021^[1]	2016^[21]	% change	2021^[1]	2016^[21]	% change	2021^[1]	2016^[21]	% change	2021^[1]	2016^[21]	% change	2021^[1]	2016^[21]	% change
Inuvialuit Settlement Region	3,145	3,110	1.1%	655	860	-23.8%	140	130	7.7%	140	25	460.0%	1,230	1,205	2.1%	5,310	5,330	-0.4%
Nunavut	30,865	30,135	2.4%	180	190	-5.3%	120	165	-27.3%	225	60	275.0%	5,210	5,025	3.7%	36,600	35,575	2.9%
Nunavik	12,595	11,800	6.7%	115	135	-14.8%	35	30	16.7%	120	30	300.0%	1,125	1,130	-0.4%	13,990	13,125	6.6%
Nunatsiavut	2,090	2,290	-8.7%	30	25	20.0%	30	35	-14.3%	15	0	inf%	150	205	-26.8%	2.320	2,555	-9.2%
Totals	48,695	47,335	2.9%	980	1,210	−19.0%	325	360	-9.7%	500	115	334.8%	7.715	7,565	2.0%	58,220	56,585	2.9%

In 2021 of those Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat 6.46 per cent live in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, 63.38 per cent in Nunavut, 25.87 per cent in Nunavik and 4.29 per cent in Nunatsiavut.^[1]

In total there are 70,545 Inuit in Canada with 48,695 (69.02 per cent) living in Inuit Nunangat and 21,850 (30.98 per cent) living in other parts of Canada.^[22] This is a growth of 8.5 per cent over 2016 when there were 65,025 Inuit in Canada with 47,335 (72.80 per cent) living in Inuit Nunangat and 17,695 (27.21 per cent) living in other parts of Canada.^[23]

Communities[edit]

There are six communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR).^[24] The ISR is made up of five hamlets and one town, Inuvik, which is the headquarters of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the regional centre for the larger Inuvik Region.^[25]

The government of Canada also lists Bathurst Inlet, Killiniq and Umingmaktuuq (Umingmaktok) as forming part of Inuit Nunangat, giving a total of 53 communities.^[36]^[2]

Communities in Inuit Nunangat
Name	Region	Type	Pop. (2021)	Pop. (2016)	% diff.	Land area	Pop den (km²)	Pop den (sqmi)	Inuit	% of total population	First Nations	Métis	Other Indigenous	Non Indigenous
Aklavik^[37]	Inuvialuit Settlement Region	Hamlet	536	590	-9.2%	12.29	43.6	112.9	320	59.7%	130	25	15	46
Akulivik^[38]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	642	633	1.4%	75.02	8.6	22.3	635	98.9%	0	0	0	7
Arctic Bay^[39]	Nunavut	Hamlet	994	868	14.5%	245.16	4.1	10.6	960	96.6%	0	0	0	34
Arviat^[40]	Nunavut	Hamlet	2,864	2,657	7.8%	126.14	22.7	58.8	2,715	94.8%	0	0	10	139
Aupaluk^[41]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	233	209	11.5%	28.68	8.1	21.0	215	92.3%	0	0	0	18
Baker Lake^[42]	Nunavut	Hamlet	2,061	2,069	-0.4%	179.54	11.5	29.8	1,870	90.7%	20	0	20	151
Cambridge Bay^[43]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,760	1,766	-0.3%	195.78	9.0	23.3	1,400	79.5%	10	15	25	310
Chesterfield Inlet^[44]	Nunavut	Hamlet	397	437	-9.2%	139.49	2.8	7.3	370	93.2%	0	0	0	27
Clyde River^[45]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,181	1,053	12.2%	103.38	11.4	29.5	1,150	97.4%	0	0	0	31
Coral Harbour^[46]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,035	891	16.2%	126.39	8.2	21.2	975	94.2%	0	0	0	60
Gjoa Haven^[47]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,349	1,324	1.9%	28.55	47.3	122.5	1,265	93.8%	0	0	15	69
Grise Fiord^[48]	Nunavut	Hamlet	144	129	11.6%	332.90	0.4	1.0	135	93.8%	0	0	0	9
Hopedale^[49]	Nunatsiavut	Town	596	574	3.8%	2.18	273.7	708.9	550	92.3%	10	0	0	36
Igloolik^[50]	Nunavut	Hamlet	2,049	1,744	17.5%	108.46	19.5	50.5	1,935	94.4%	10	0	0	104
Inukjuak^[51]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	1,821	1,757	3.6%	54.92	33.2	86.0	1,775	97.5%	0	0	0	46
Inuvik^[52]	Inuvialuit Settlement Region	Town	3,137	3,243	-3.3%	62.68	50.0	129.5	1,265	40.3%	520	115	95	1,142
Iqaluit^[53]	Nunavut	City	7,429	7,740	−4.0%	51.58	144.0	373.0	3,830	51.6%	95	65	65	3,374
Ivujivik^[54]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	412	414	-0.5%	35.15	11.7	30.3	405	98.3%	0	0	0	7
Kangiqsualujjuaq^[55]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	956	942	1.5%	34.33	27.9	72.3	825	86.3%	0	0	0	131
Kangiqsujuaq^[56]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	837	750	11.6%	12.41	67.5	174.8	770	92.0%	0	0	0	67
Kangirsuk^[57]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	561	567	-1.1%	57.15	9.8	25.4	515	91.8%	25	0	0	21
Kimmirut^[58]	Nunavut	Hamlet	426	389	9.5%	2.30	184.9	478.9	420	98.6%	0	0	0	6
Kinngait^[59]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,396	1,441	-3.1%	9.89	141.2	365.7	1,310	93.8%	0	0	10	76
Kugaaruk^[60]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,033	933	10.7%	5.06	204.2	528.9	935	90.5%	0	0	0	98
Kugluktuk^[61]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,382	1,491	-7.3%	538.99	2.6	6.7	1,215	87.9%	0	0	10	157
Kuujjuaq^[62]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	2,668	2,754	-3.1%	289.97	9.2	23.8	2,000	75.0%	10	10	10	638
Kuujjuarapik^[63]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	792	654	21.1%	7.45	106.3	275.3	600	75.8%	50	0	85	57
Makkovik^[64]	Nunatsiavut	Town	365	377	-3.2%	2.95	123.5	319.9	295	80.8%	0	20	0	50
Nain^[65]	Nunatsiavut	Town	847	1,125	-24.7%	93.50	9.1	23.6	790	93.3%	50	0	0	7
Naujaat^[66]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,255	1,082	16.0%	406.19	3.0	7.8	1,200	95.6%	0	0	0	55
Pangnirtung^[67]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,504	1,481	1.6%	7.98	188.5	488.2	1,370	91.1%	10	0	40	84
Paulatuk^[68]	Inuvialuit Settlement Region	Hamlet	298	265	12.5%	63.58	4.7	12.2	270	90.6%	0	0	0	28
Pond Inlet^[69]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,555	1,617	-3.8%	170.83	9.1	23.6	1,450	93.2%	0	0	10	95
Postville^[70]	Nunatsiavut	Town	188	177	6.2%	2.39	78.7	203.8	160	85.1%	0	10	0	18
Puvirnituq^[71]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	2,129	1,779	19.7%	81.61	26.1	67.6	1,965	92.3%	0	0	10	154
Qikiqtarjuaq^[72]	Nunavut	Hamlet	593	598	-0.8%	130.80	4.5	11.7	555	93.6%	0	10	0	28
Quaqtaq^[73]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	453	403	12.4%	25.82	17.5	45.3	435	96.0%	0	0	0	18
Rankin Inlet^[74]	Nunavut	Hamlet	2,975	2,842	4.7%	20.03	148.5	384.6	2,475	83.2%	25	15	10	450
Resolute^[75]	Nunavut	Hamlet	183	198	-7.6%	115.02	1.6	4.1	165	90.2%	0	0	0	18
Rigolet^[76]	Nunatsiavut	Town	327	305	7.2%	5.27	62.0	160.6	300	91.7%	10	0	0	17
Sachs Harbour^[77]	Inuvialuit Settlement Region	Hamlet	103	104	−1.0%	272.22	0.4	1.0	95	92.2%	0	0	0	8
Salluit^[78]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	1,580	1,483	6.5%	15.08	104.8	271.4	1,505	95.3%	0	10	0	65
Sanikiluaq^[79]	Nunavut	Hamlet	1,010	882	14.5%	109.68	9.2	23.8	950	94.1%	0	0	0	60
Sanirajak^[80]	Nunavut	Hamlet	891	848	5.1%	16.36	54.5	141.2	840	94.3%	0	0	0	51
Taloyoak^[81]	Nunavut	Hamlet	934	1,029	-9.2%	35.38	26.4	68.4	900	96.4%	0	0	0	34
Tasiujaq^[82]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	420	369	13.8%	65.53	6.4	16.6	415	98.8%	0	0	0	5
Tuktoyaktuk^[83]	Inuvialuit Settlement Region	Hamlet	937	898	4.3%	12.66	74.0	191.7	815	87.0%	10	0	25	87
Ulukhaktok^[84]	Inuvialuit Settlement Region	Hamlet	408	396	3.0%	120.71	3.4	8.8	380	93.1%	0	0	0	28
Umiujaq^[85]	Nunavik	Northern Village Municipality	541	442	22.4%	28.38	19.1	49.5	530	98.0%	0	0	10	1
Whale Cove^[86]	Nunavut	Hamlet	470	435	8.0%	273.89	1.7	4.4	445	94.7%	0	0	0	25

Languages[edit]

There are multiple Inuit languages, along with English and French, spoken across Inuit Nunangat. The oral languages form a vast dialect continuum with mutual intelligibility between neighbouring variants from the westernmost Iñupiatun dialect to the three Greenlandic languages: Kalaallisut, Tunumiisut, and, the closest variation to Canadian dialects, Inuktun. In Canada, there is Inuvialuktun spoken in the West in Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq); Inuktitut, the most spoken dialect; Inuinnaqtun which straddles the line between Inuktitut and Inuvialuktun; and Inuttitut spoken in the Labradorian east by Nunatsiavummiut. And, attested contemporarily only in a few Nunavut communities, Inuit Sign Language (also known as Atgangmuurngniq and Uukturausingit) continues to be passed down through generations regardless of deafness.^[87] It is unknown by academia if there is any relation between Greenlandic and Inuit Sign Languages or if Greenlandic Sign Language is a dialect of Danish Tegnsprog.^[88]

Within each of the primary oral language divisions, collectively referred to as Inuktut, (Inuvialuktun, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuktitut, and Inuttut),^[89] there exist several dialects therein. Within Inuvialuktun, the Siglit who live at the mouth of the Mackenzie River (Inuvialuktun: Kuukpak [kuːkpɑk] literally great river) speak Siglitun; and the Uummarmiut, or "people of the green trees" and are sometimes called "Canadian Iñupiat," speak Uummarmiutun. Western Inuktut dialects are sometimes considered Inuvialuktun dialects, such as Inuinnaqtun (including one of its sub dialects, Kangiryuarmiutun, spoken by the Copper Inuit group, the Kangiryuarmiut). Others include Natsilingmiutut, spoken by the Netsilik, with its sub-dialects including Utkuhiksalik (the language of the "people of the place where there is soapstone": Utkuhiksalingmiut); Kivallirmiutut spoken by the Caribou Inuit of the Kivalliq Region; Aivilingmiutut of the Aivilingmiut; and the northern Qikiqtaaluk uannangani spoken by Iglulingmiut of the Igloolik. On the southern part of Baffin Island (Qikiqtaaluk) around the Nunavut capital Iqaluit, Qikiqtaaluk nigiani is spoken, and relatively close is the dialect of Nunavik, Nunavimmiutitut, sometimes called Tarramiutut, Taqramiutut, or Inuttitut (not to be confused with Nunatsiavummiutut (Inuttitut) of Labrador). Nunavimmiutitut includes the sub dialects spoken by the Tarrarmiut and Itivimuit. Nunatsiavummiut in Nunatsiavut, Labrador speak Inuttitut, Inuttut, or, alternatively, Labradorimiutut.

People[edit]

Inuit are diverse peoples who share cultural and linguistic similarities. Moreover, they are a bimodal people, speaking both oral languages, Inuit languages and sign languages, Inuit Sign Language (Atgangmuurniq).

Peoples of Inuit Nunangat[edit]

Inuit outside Nunangat[edit]

Related peoples[edit]

Geography[edit]

Spanning much of the North American Arctic, Inuit Nunangat is mostly above the tree line. It is situated in Northern Canada, and some tribes can even expand to Siberia, Alaska and Greenland.

Climate change[edit]

In 2019, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami released their National Inuit Climate Change Strategy to combat and respond to the ecological collapse and its effects on Inuit and Inuit Nunangat.^[91]

Culture[edit]

Inuit culture transcends millennia and includes numerous music styles, sports and other cultural attributes.

Inuit art first came to outside attention in the 1940s through printmaking and carving. It is known for the use of soapstone, such as for carvings and for making qulliq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᖁᓪᓕᖅ, seal oil lamps). Although power tools are used, soapstone carving is often preferably done by axe and file.

The modern kayak originates from Inuit culture, originally called a qajaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᖃᔭᖅ). As well, Inuit use the larger (6–12 m (20–39 ft)), wood-framed flat-bottomed umiak or umiaq for transporting people, goods, and dogs; and, on land, qamutiik (dog sled) pulled by the Canadian Eskimo Dogsorhuskies, known in Inuit languagesasqimmiit, though Inuit have since transitioned to motorized forms of transport such as the snowmobile for navigating. In part because the massacre of most of their sled dogs in the eastern part of Inuit Nunangat between the 1950s and 1970s. It was believed that the killings were done in order to force Inuit out of their traditional way of life and assimilate them into southern Canadian society. In 2007, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association organized the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, one year after a Royal Canadian Mounted Police report denying the slaughter of 20,000 dogs to help force Inuit into settlements,^[92] and stated that "the killings went on far too long to be the result of a secret plan or conspiracy, and that the dog killings began ... several years before the federal government adopted a formal central policy of dog control."^[93] On 14 August 2019, the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations, Carolyn Bennett, apologized to the Qikiqtani Inuit for the slaughter.^[94]

Inuit cuisine, also known as "country food,"^[95] incorporates a variety of meats (such as walrus, narwhal, bearded seal, caribou, polar bear, Arctic cod, and Arctic char, among others) and gathered plants (including crowberries, cloudberries, fireweed, seaweed, tubers and roots like mousefood, tuberous spring beauty, and sweet vetch)^[96] Much of the meat is served frozen, raw, or boiled, much like sushiorsashimiinJapanese cuisine. Delicacies include akutuq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐊᑯᑐᖅ),^[97] an ice cream-like dessert made with fat or tallow, meat, and mixed with berries;^[97] igunaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒍᓇᖅ), a year-long fermentation of select meats; muktuk (Inuktitut syllabics: ᒪᒃᑖᖅ) (alternatively, maktaaq, maktak (Inuktitut syllabics: ᒪᒃᑕᒃ) or maktaq), whale skin and blubber usually eaten raw, sometimes frozen or pickled, and occasionally finely diced, breaded, deep fried, and then served with soy sauce; Labrador tea; and various dips such as aalu (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐋᓗ) (intended for meat made from the choice parts of caribou or seal, chopped into tiny pieces and blended with melted fat and blood), misiraq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᒥᓯᕋᖅ) (aged to resemble an aromatic white wine, made from seal or whale blubber), and nirukkaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓂᕈᒃᑲᖅ), a smooth made pâté made from the contents of a caribou's stomach.^[98]

Law[edit]

Inuit Nunangat currently functions through a variety of legal systems. As a Canadian jurisdiction, all of Inuit Nunangat falls under the federally overseen Criminal Code for criminal law. Inuvialuit Nunangat in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, Nunavut, and Nunatsiavut in Labrador are all subject to the English common law tradition. Nunavik, falling under the jurisdiction of Quebec, follows the civil law tradition as it pertains to private law. Finally, Inuit largely still follow Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit traditions, recognizing the interconnected nature of reality. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᑐᖃᖏᑦ, alternatively rendered QaujimanituqangitorQauyimayatuqangit), comes from the root word qaujima- (Inuktitut syllabics: ᖃᐅᔨ) meaning "to know," and could be literally translated as "that which has long been known by Inuit." Leaders and Elders did not see themselves as agents of social control or law and order, as each individual contributes to the functioning of the community.^[99] The integration of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (or IQ) and the wider Canadian legal tradition is an ongoing process. For example, the Nunavut Court of Justice is the only "unified," single-level court in Canada, and the court travels to communities every six weeks to two years. There are also on-the-land, restorative justice, and contemporary healing circle programs administered.^[100]

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