NUNAVUT

    On April 1, 1999, new boundaries will be drawn in the Northwest Territories, creating two new territories, Nunavut (which means "our land" in Inuktitut) and the as-yet unnamed western territory.  This change will alter the map of Canada for the first time since Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949.

    The concept of dividing the Northwest Territories dates back to the 1950s, however the more recent arguments for creating two new territories center around the desire of people in Nunavut - the Inuit - to have their own, more culturally-based government using the native language Inuktitut.   Specifically, in the 1970s the concept was proposed as part of the comprehensive Inuit land claim settlement. In the 1980s public vote to divide the Northwest Territories,  56.6% indicated in favor, and over the next decade the Federal Government announced its support of Nunavut, and boundaries were discussed.  In 1992 Inuit overwhelmingly approved the Nunavut final land claim agreement and took a step towards forming a new territory and government.   Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Northwest Territories Government Leader Nellie Cournoyea, and Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut President Paul Quassa signed the deal in Iqaluit in May, 1993.  (Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut was the organization that negotiated the Inuit land claim and has since been replaced by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.)

    Iqaluit is the capital of the Nunavut territory, although people in Nunavut envision a decentralized government with the power and responsibilities spread throughout the territory.  With 88% voter turn-out in the first election held February 15, 1999, eighteen men and one woman were elected to the Nunavut Legislative Assembly.  They will be sworn in April 1, 1999.

GEOGRAPHY

    Nunavut makes up 1/5th of Canada's land area, and with its many islands, bay, and channels, Nunavut has 2/3rds of the country's coastline.  It is larger than any other territory or province in Canada, and is four times as big as Texas.   On a map, Nunavut's southern border lies along a line called the 60th parallel of latitude, so people in Nunavut say they live "North of 60" and they call anyone who lives "South of 60", Southerners.

    The average summer temperature is 48 degrees (F), and during the winter, which lasts about nine months, the average temperature is -22 degrees (F).  Sometimes called Land of the Midnight Sun, Nunavut during summer has summer days of almost continual sunlight.  In winter, the northernmost parts of the territory experience almost constant darkness.   The amount of rain and snow fall varies. Some parts of the Arctic Islands such as Ellesmere Island get so little - 2.5 inches/year - they are dry enough to be called deserts.  Other areas such as the mainland, get as much as 39 inches a year.

NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS

    Archeological research indicates Nunavut has been lived in continuously for more than 4,000 years, although there are indications of small pockets of habitation beginning 8,000 years ago.   Archeologists divide Nunavut's inhabitants into two distinct but related groups: the Paleoeskimo people who lived there from 4,000 to 700 years ago, and the Neoeskimo people who entered Nunavut about 1,000 years ago. (The Native people of Nunavut were once known as Eskimos, which means "eaters of raw meat" in the language of Algonquians.  But the Native people in Nunavut call themselves Inuit, which means "the people" in their own language.)

    The National Library of Canada's on-line exhibit called "North: Landscape of the Imagination"  explores the history and art of Arctic native peoples from the beginning to the present.  In this exhibit the National Library has drawn on its collection of books, magazines, manuscripts and music to reveal the North of the artist.

NUVAVUT CULTURE

    About 25,000 people live in Nunavut.  Inuit make up 80% of the territory's population, and the remaining 20% are mostly people of British and European descent.  Nunavut's residents are scattered throughout the territory in 28 isolated communities.  These centers may be as large as Iqaluit, which has about 4,000 residents, or as small as Bathurst Inlet, with a population of 18.  Some families choose to live on the land in outpost camps, away from settlements.

    Great distances do not stop the people of Nunavut from coming together often to have fun.  Celebrations, community feasts, sporting events, festivals and concerts are popular activities.   These shared events help Nunavut's Inuit and non-Inuit cultures understand and enjoy one another.

    People in Nunavut love sports.  Popular non-Inuit games include hockey, curling, and badminton.  Inuit games are played by only one or two people and involve feats of strength, agility and balance.  Every two years, Nunavut's athletes join with those from Alaska, Greenland, and other Arctic countries for the Arctic Winter Games.  People compete in sports such cross-country skiing, indoor soccer, figure skating, and Inuit wrestling in which contestants use only the strength of their arms and shoulders - not legs - to pin an opponent to the floor.   Almost every community in Nunavut has a carnival to celebrate the arrival of spring, and the biggest spring carnival is Toonik Tyme in Iqaluit.  The event starts with a parade and ends with a feast.  In between, people racing snow mobiles and dogsleds.  In summer people meet for a festival called Northern Games.  Among the main activities are the Good Woman and Good Man contests, where men and women test skills such as plucking ducks, skinning seals and making a flat bread called bannock.  

    Music, drum dancing and other kinds of dancing, chanting, singing and throat singing, storytelling, and creating art  and carving sculptures are all part of Nunavut culture.  To hear a sample of throat singing which Inuit are famous for, connect with this ethnomusicology web site.

NUNAVUT ECONOMY

    There are about 20 kilometers of roads, which include a few streets in each community and a road on Baffin Island between Arctic Bay and Nanisivik.  So, people travel by snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle along trails formed by game animals or on specially constructed winter roads made from ice and snow.   For longer journeys, people fly, which is as common as taking the bus in other parts of the world. 

   Nunavut's economy is shaped by how residents live.   Most Inuit work at a bit of everything.  When jobs are available, Inuit do seasonal work such as guiding tourists or constructing buildings.  They fish and hunt caribou and musk oxen for food and clothing, and sell animal meat and hides.  Almost half of Inuit households earn extra money by making traditional artwork such as carvings from whalebone, antlers, and soapstone.  They also make drawings, prints and clothing, working in their homes and selling to local co-ops to which then sell the art to galleries throughout the world.  Tourism is the fastest growing part of the territory's economy, with Inuit working as hotel clerks, cooks, tour guides and outfitters who rent or sell equipment.

    Over 80% of wage earners in Nunavut have service jobs helping people or businesses, and almost half of these service workers are employed by the government as administrators, consultants, police officers, teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, mechanics, garbage collectors, and trades people.

    With rich deposits of minerals, Nunavut's mining industry employs about 4% of the wage earners.  Miners in Nunavut dig for lead and zinc, or for gold in one of Canada's top five gold producing mines. 

________________________________

| Introduction | Fact Facts | Web Sites | Background | Teaching Module |