Nunavut Culture

Menstruation Marriage Family life Health disparities The context of birth Traditionally, young Inuit women received little information about puberty, fertility, and pregnancy. Consequently, elders describe that it was not uncommon for young women to remain in bed when they reached menarche, believing that they were sick or physiologically different. Once informed, the young woman's mother would instruct her on menstruation practices and often, the camp (or community) would become apprised of her situation. During menstruation, women were expected to follow certain practices including, 1) not sitting where men sat, 2) using rabbit skin, foxes or mosses and other garments, with the exception of men's garments, for sanitary pads, and 3) laying rabbit skin on the bed at night to soak up blood. According to elders, women had to abide by more rules than men because of their menstruation and some rules were not only considered tradition, but also tabo...

Transitional phase (1300-19th century) Historical period of the Inuit (from 1800) Contact with Europeans 19th century social structure and way of life Nomadic life in the first half of the 20th century Transition into the 21st century Fundamental change of living conditions From the beginning of the 14th century, a gradual cooling occurred throughout the Canadian Archipelago and the Arctic Ocean coast of the mainland. The period between 1550 and 1880, the so-called "Little Ice Age", caused temperatures significantly lower than today's in North America and Europe (with a brief period of higher heat around 1800). The effect of the drop in temperature upon the hunting-dependent lifestyle of the Thule was significant. Entire regions of the high Arctic were depopulated, partly by mass migrations but also by the starvation of entire communities. The traditional way of life was maintained only by communities in the relatively hospitable regions of the Arctic:...

Period IV (1000 BCE-1000 CE) Kachemak tradition Norton tradition Choris, Norton, Ipiutak (in northern Alaska, the forerunners of the Thule people) Independence II culture 800/600-1 BC Dorset Culture (500 BC-1000 AD) Period V (1000 CE-present) Western Arctic Koniaq Old Bering Sea Okvik Birnirk Punuk Thule—Bering Sea Thule "Western Thule" of North Alaska Canadian Thule Inugsuk Thule of Greenland Thule culture (1000-1800 CE) The wave of Thule migrations Western Arctic Eastern Arctic Presumably for climatic reasons, northern Greenland was not populated for about 500 years afterward. Archaeological evidence has shown that before the disappearance of the Saqqaq culture from southern Greenland, a new culture arrived from the Canadian archipelago. The newer people showed a more developed culture from an archaeological standpoint. That culture is called Independence II culture, and it seems to have developed from the C...

Inuit  describes the various groups of indigenous peoples who live throughout  Inuit Nunangat , that is the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut of Northern Canada, Nunavik in Quebec and Nunatsiavut in Labrador, as well as in Greenland. The term  culture of the Inuit , therefore, refers primarily to these areas; however, parallels to other Eskimo groups can also be drawn. The traditional lifestyle of the Inuit is adapted to extreme climatic conditions; their essential skills for survival are hunting and trapping. Agriculture was never possible in the millions of square kilometres of tundra and icy coasts from Siberia to Northern America and Greenland. Therefore, hunting became the core of the culture and cultural history of the Inuit. Thus, the everyday life in modern Inuit settlements, established ...

Culture Music Media Film Performing arts Nunavummiut (notable people) Alcohol Sport The indigenous music of Nunavut includes Inuit throat singing and drum-led dancing, along with country music, bluegrass, square dancing, the button accordion and the fiddle, an infusion of European influence. The Inuit Broadcasting Corporation is based in Nunavut. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) serves Nunavut through a radio and television production centre in Iqaluit, and a bureau in Rankin Inlet. The territory is also served by two regional weekly newspapers Nunatsiaq News published by Nortext and Nunavut News/North, published by Northern News Services, who also publish the regional Kivalliq News. Broadband internet is provided by Qiniq and Northwestel through Netkaster. The film production company Isuma is based in Igloolik. Co-founded by Zac...

Nunavut's people rely primarily on diesel fuel to run generators and heat homes, with fossil fuel shipments from southern Canada by plane or boat because there are few to no roads or rail links to the region. There is a government effort to use more renewable energy sources, which is generally supported by the community. This support comes from Nunavut feeling the effects of global warming. Former Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak said in 2011, "Climate change is very much upon us. It is affecting our hunters, the animals, the thinning of the ice is a big concern, as well as erosion from permafrost melting." The region is warming about twice as fast as the global average, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Government and politics Licence plates Flag and coat of arms Nunavut elects a single member of the Canadian House of Commons. This makes Nunavut the lar...

Economy Mining and exploration Advancing mining projects Name Company In the region of Material Meliadine Gold Agnico-Eagle Rankin Inlet Gold Back River Project Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Bathurst Inlet Gold Izok Corridor Project MMG Resources Inc. Kugluktuk Gold, Copper, Silver, Zinc Hackett River Glencore Kugluktuk Copper, Lead, Silver, Zinc Chidliak Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Iqaluit / Pangnirtung Diamonds Committee Bay, Three Bluffs Gold Project Auryn Resources Inc Naujaat Gold Kiggavik Areva Resources Baker Lake Uranium Hope Bay Doris North Mine TMAC Resources Inc Cambridge Bay Gold Roche Bay Advanced Exploration Hall Beach Iron Ore Ulu and Lupin Elgin Mining Ltd. Contwoyto Lake - connected to Yellowknife with an ice road Gold Storm Copper Property Aston Bay Holdings Taloyoak Copper Historic mines Lupin Mine 1982–2005, gold, current owner Elgin Mining Ltd located near the Northwest Territories boundary near Contwoyto Lake) ...

As of the 2016 Canada Census, the population of Nunavut was 35,944, a 12.7% increase from 2011. In 2006, 24,640 people identified themselves as Inuit (83.6% of the total population), 100 as First Nations (0.34%), 130 Métis (0.44%) and 4,410 as non-aboriginal (14.96%). Ten largest communities Municipality 2011 2006 growth Iqaluit 6,699 6,184 8.3% Rankin Inlet 2,577 2,358 9.3% Arviat 2,318 2,060 12.5% Baker Lake 1,872 1,728 8.3% Cambridge Bay 1,608 1,477 8.9% Pond Inlet 1,549 1,315 17.8% Igloolik 1,454 1,538 −5.5% Kugluktuk 1,450 1,302 11.4% Pangnirtung 1,425 1,325 7.5% Cape Dorset 1,363 1,236 10.3% Language "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-...