Nunavut - Nunavut

Nunavut is a territory of Northern Canada.

To know

Nunavut is a vast territory at the extreme North of the Canada. It is located east of the Northwest Territories of which it was once part, and north of Manitoba, Ontario is Quebec and west of the Greenland. Nunavut encompasses a good portion of the upper tip of the North American continent, a large number of islands in the Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. Alert on Ellesmere Island is the northernmost settlement in the world. Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island in the world although it has a cemetery, the most northerly in the world.

Nunavut means our land in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. The official languages ​​are English, French, Inuktitut and Innuinaqtun. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the world.

When to go

Nunavut experiences polar climate in most regions, due to its high latitude and lower continental summer influence than areas to the west. Very cold subarctic climates can be found in the southernmost continental areas, as July is slightly milder than the required 10 ° C (50 ° F).

Background

The region that is now the mainland of Nunavut was first populated some 4,500 years ago by Pre-Dorset, a different Paleo-Eskimo culture that migrated eastward from the Bering Strait region. The pre-Dorset culture was replaced by the Dorset culture some 2800 years ago. Dorset culture is assumed to have developed from Pre-Dorset, however the relationship between the two remains unclear.

Helluland, a place Norwegian explorers describe visiting the Icelanders' Sagas, has been linked to Nunavut's Baffin Island.

The Thule people, ancestors of the modern Inuit, began migrating to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut from Alaska in the 11th century. By 1300, the geographical extent of the Thule settlement included most of modern Nunavut. The migration of the Thule people coincides with the decline of Dorset, which became extinct between 800 and 1500.

Written historical accounts of the area begin in 1576, with a tale by the English explorer Martin Frobisher. While leading an expedition to find the Northwest Passage, Frobisher thought he had discovered gold ore around the body of water now known as Frobisher Bay on the coast of Baffin Island. The mineral proved useless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit.

Until the end of World War II, when the Canadian government began to realize its strategic importance, the Canadian Far North was seen as an arid and desolate place, inhabited by indigenous peoples and containing vast mineral resources that must (and must) still be exploited.

The Cornwallis and Ellesmere islands were the protagonists of the history of the Cold War in the 1950s. Concerned about the strategic geopolitical position of the area, the federal government moved the Inuit from Nunavik (Northern Quebec) to Resolute and Grise Fiord. In unknown and hostile conditions, they faced hunger but were forced to stay.

Discussions about dividing the Northwest Territories along ethnic lines began in the 1950s, in order to give the Inuit people some degree of self-government. In 1982, after much discussion and discussion, it was decided to divide the Northwest Territories into two parts, one called Nunavut and the other keeping the name "Northwest Territories". On April 1, 1999, Nunavut was born.

Territories and tourist destinations

• 72.2311-88.6123061 Baffin Island. The largest Canadian island. 
• 79.874167-79.3213892 Ellesmere Island. 

Urban centers

Other destinations

How to get

By plane

Access is by air only: there is no road or rail from the south and consequently the prices are quite expensive due to the difficulty of shipping the goods. Iqaluit hosts scheduled passenger services from Ottawa, Montreal, Rankin Inlet and smaller communities throughout eastern Nunavut. Flights from Yellowknife and Winnipeg pass through Rankin Inlet.

On boat

Cargo ships make the voyage to Iqaluit by sea in the summer months, but there are no passenger ships operating these routes. Exploring Nunavut by cruise ship is a popular but expensive option. Adventure Canada], Quark Expeditions is EYOS Expeditions they make cruises in the territory.

How to get around

In smaller communities (less than 3,000 inhabitants), ATVs and trucks are used during the short summer (when there is no snow).

In winter, snowmobiles are the primary means of getting around. Dog sleds are also used, but owning and maintaining a team of dogs can be a very expensive undertaking. Getting to and from the different communities can only be done by plane; there are no roads that connect the different inhabited centers of the territory.

What see

• 63.748611-68.5169441 Iqaluit. The capital. 
• Observation of marine fauna. Particularly good a Resolute Bay. 
• Ovayuk Territorial Park (east of Cambridge Bay). 
• Iqalugaarjuup Nunanga Territorial Park (near Rankin Inlet). 

What to do

• Pakallak Time. in April. Rankin Inlet celebrates Pakallak Time with a sled race, snowmobile racing and igloo building. 

Shopping

Traditional crafts and engravings are the items to keep an eye on.

• Uqqurmiut Center, Pangnirtung. Inuit art facility selling local produce. 

To sleep

As for food, accommodation is very expensive in Nunavut. Expect to pay premium prices for fairly basic accommodations. For example, a B&B in Iqaluit, the largest city, starts at $ 130 per night.

At the table

Some cities may offer small restaurants or cafes.

Try some traditional Inuit foods, such as raw seal meat. For many Inuit, hunting is still the primary way to get food, so many northern foods can be bought from local fishermen or hunters and cooked. Arctic char has been a staple food for thousands of years. It is a sustainable fish related to salmon and trout that is prized for its mild taste, striking color, and health benefits. Caribou.

The main grocery stores are Co-op and Northern, a common grocery store for Nunavut. Since most food is shipped by plane, be prepared to pay extraordinarily high prices for perishable products, such as milk, fruit, and vegetables.

During the short summer, foraging wild plants such as mountain sorrel, snow willow, Labrador tea, lamb's quarter, violet, and shepherd's purse was an important supplement to the Inuit diet. Local berries include cranberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, and cranberries.

In Nunavut, any food provided by the land is called "country food": caribou, arctic char, salmon, musk ox, seal, whale, seafood (fish, clams and mussels), arctic hare and ptarmigan. Country food is often accompanied by imported sauces, such as soy sauce, or traditional caribou or seal based sauces.

Drinks

In many places in Nunavut there is a local law that prohibits any alcohol. Given the high rates of addiction and suicide in many places, communities have felt the need to adopt this extreme stance. Don't bring alcohol into an officially arid community, as you can exacerbate local problems with alcohol abuse and even cause a person's death.

In other communities, local bars may operate. There are no local liquor stores outside of Iqaluit; a warehouse in each of Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit will ship spirits outside the community, but this must be ordered in advance.

How to keep in touch

The network service wireless is now available in cities and hamlets. Qiniq and Bell Mobility are the service providers. Despite government subsidies, prices are slightly higher due to the high maintenance costs associated with cold weather and the small customer base to spread the costs. Satellite phones are the best choice if you are outside of these settlements.

Safety

Beware of polar bears both in uninhabited areas and near inhabited centers.

There is no 9-1-1 emergency number in Nunavut. Use seven-digit local numbers to reach individual emergency services in each community.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Nunavut
• Commons contains images or other files on Nunavut